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STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE 



STUDIES IN METHODIST 
LITERATURE 



BY 



REV. WATSON BOONE DUNCAN, A.M., Ph.D. 



Author of " Character- Building, " " Our Vows, " " Twentieth Century 
Sketches,'' "Immortality and Modern Thought," 1 etc. 



EPWORTH LEAGUE READING COURSE 
VOLUME IV. 



Nashville, Tenn. 
Dallas, Tex. ; Richmond, Va. 
Publishing House Methodist Episcopal Church, South 
Smith & Lamar, Agents 
1914 




Copyright, 1914 

BY 

Smith & Lamar 



NOV 271314 

©CI.A387696 
1U( 



The noble Christian woman who, through all the years of my 
ministry, has heroically shared my trials and has 
largely contributed to my triumphs 

Uizzf* Sitttran 

This book is affectionately dedicated 



CONTENTS. 

Paob. 



Foreword 9 

Introduction 11 

Chapter I. 

The Literary View of Life . 15 

Chapter II. 

The Writings of Wesley 25 

Chapter III. 

The Writings of Wesley (Continued).. 39 

Chapter IV. 

The Lyrics of Methodism 53 

Chapter V. 

Pulpit Oratory 67 

Chapter VI. 

Biblical Literature 79 

Chapter VII. 

. Theological Literature 93 

Chapter VIII. 

Biographical Literature 107 

Chapter IX. 

Historical Literature 121 

Chapter X. 

Methodist Metaphysicians 135 

Chapter XI. 

The Journal of Francis Asbury 149 

Chapter XII. 

Miscellaneous Writings 163 



(7) 



FOREWORD. 



A few years ago, while preparing an address for the an- 
niversary of the Historical Society of the South Carolina 
Conference, I came upon this hitherto undiscovered field so 
rich and ripe. In the midst of growing pastoral duties since 
that time I have occasionally slipped over into the field and 
gathered a few sheaves. These will indicate the golden 
harvest that awaits the reaper who has the time and disposi- 
tion to enter in. 

It is difficult to realize that the early Methodists, whose 
supreme business was the evangelization of the masses, and 
with such limited time and meager facilities at their com- 
mand, were able to make such valuable contributions to the 
literature of the world. 

Indeed, we are the heirs of a glorious inheritance. We 
are the beneficiaries of a great past. Shall we become the 
benefactors of a greater future? 

Watson Boone Duncan. 

Orangeburg, S. G, 1914. 

(9) 



INTRODUCTION. 



Methodism in its origin and influence was something 
more than the ecclesiastical organization that carries its 
name to the ends of the world and whose membership now 
constitutes the largest Protestant religious body on the 
globe. It was also something more than a conflagration of 
religious enthusiasm that in the eighteenth century swept 
over the masses of the English-speaking peoples, only to 
die down with the passing of the winds of emotion that 
fanned it stormily into flame. It was a movement as deep 
as the moral life of men, as broad as their conduct in all 
human relationships, and answering the needs of their 
fundamental religious faith and personal religious experi- 
ence. 

John Wesley and his associates faced a society of de- 
cadent moral standards and shamelessly lax moral conduct, 
a political condition malodorously rotten, with every form 
of corruption and sunken into a stagnation that was un- 
ruffled by any breeze of civic idealism, an established Church 
complacently blind to its high mission and itself soiled deep- 
ly with the general corruption of the age, and a philosophy 
that either rationalized God out of life or made him but a 
thin abstraction, in either case appealing to no human sense 
of divine responsibility and exercising no controlling in- 
fluence on conduct. But this was not all. John Wesley 
also faced a new force, a force in the political world not 
unlike the force in the religious world which he was re- 
leasing — the force called democracy. The people, the 
masses, out of their poverty, misery, and oppression, were 
coming to a consciousness of their privileges, their rights, 
their power. They were getting ready to use their power 
in forcing political institutions to assure to them their 

en) 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



rights and privileges as men. Across the seas in the New 
World the struggle to this end creates the American Repub- 
lic ; over in France the story is written in the terror of the 
Revolution; while in England the Wesleyan movement 
steadies the progress of democracy by putting a fresh faith 
and a new hope in the heart of the masses, and society goes 
forward by the orderly processes of reform rather than 
through the violent measures of revolution. 

This statement of the relation of the Wesleyan movement 
to the great democratic movement at once emphasizes for 
us the conception that it was something more than the 
founding of an ecclesiastical organization. It was a great 
and far-reaching historical movement, with personal religion 
as the energizing and guiding force. It brought to men a 
new sense of the hideousness of sin and of the beauty of 
holiness and made God, faith, salvation, personal responsi- 
bility, striving after righteousness, the witness of the Spirit 
of Christ the simple, impregnable realities of actual, in- 
dividual experience. These suggest the forces that trans- 
formed English society by stirring it to its depths with the 
power of a vital religion and sent, as the historian Green 
says, a new moral energy pulsing through English life. 
The forces of Methodism also crossed the Atlantic, entered 
into the foundation of the new republic, went with the 
pioneer in each successive movement of population west- 
ward, and gave to expanding American society a moral tone 
which survives to this day. 

Out of such a movement, so vital, so far-reaching, so 
rich in romantic color, so epic in heroic adventures, and so 
marvelously impressive in personal and collective experi- 
ence, it is but natural that there should develop a varied 
literature of thought and feeling. And this is what actually 
happened. With the passage of time, as the Wesleyan move- 
ment shaped and organized itself into the Methodist Church, 
every phase of its life found expression in some form of 



INTRODUCTION. 



13 



literature — poetry, essay, diary, biography, oratory, history, 
philosophy, or theology. Its founder, though a flaming 
apostle of righteousness and an ecclesiastical statesman of 
the highest order, was himself a man of the widest intel- 
lectual interests, a man of letters with the gift of a wonder- 
fully simple, forthright style. He was a prolific maker of 
books; and his associates and followers, lighting their 
torches from his, have not let the meaning of Methodist 
thought and history and experience be shadowed in dark- 
ness for want of interpreters. 

It is the noble record of the expression of the Methodist 
movement in literature that Dr. Duncan has given in the 
present volume. And he has done an exceedingly impor- 
tant piece of work in a clear, readable, brief, yet compre- 
hensive way. It is conveniently arranged in chapters, the 
headings of which naturally suggest the range and variety 
of our Methodist literature — "The Writings of John Wes- 
ley," "The Lyrics of Methodism," "Pulpit Oratory," "Bibli- 
cal Literature," "Historical Literature," "Methodist Meta- 
physicians." Such headings give the plan of the book and 
suggest the rich field that has been opened up. No one can 
know the meaning of Methodism without also knowing the 
writings of John Wesley. Methodism has ever been a sing- 
ing religion, and has consequently given to the world some 
of its most precious lyrics of faith and experience. The 
truth it preached has stirred men of supreme endowment 
to spoken utterance of marvelous power, and its literature 
is rich in rare oratorical achievement from every standard 
of measurement. It has always based its faith upon the 
pure word of God, and has drawn to Biblical interpretation 
and comment an exceptional company of trained scholars. 
Its creed, with all its simplicity, has been profound enough 
to attract to its exposition theologians and philosophers of 
high rank and equipment, and the moving stories of its 
heroes and of its own development and spread have been 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



put to record by capable and sympathetic pens. And in 
making it possible to appreciate these varied phases of 
Methodist literary history and expression Dr. Duncan is 
rendering a distinctly valuable service to all who are con- 
cerned with the real significance of the Methodist move- 
ment. Henry N. Snyder. 
Wofford College, October 4, 1913. 



CHAPTER I. 
The Literary View of Life. 



CHAPTER I. 



The Literary View of Life. 

Life is many-sided, and our conception of it depends 
upon the viewpoint from which we take our bearings. To 
the traveler life is a journey. Indeed, a journey requiring 
time and effort and patience and fraught with dangers seen 
and unseen to us illustrates life. And the different experi- 
ences of life are beautifully symbolized by the varieties of 
scenery upon which the eye of the traveler gazes. At times 
the pathway leads over smooth roads and fragrant land- 
scapes ; at others it leads over rough and thorny roads and 
up rugged mountain sides where often the feet are bruised 
by the stones. 

To the business man life is a great enterprise in which we 
toil and bend our energies for success. Constant applica- 
tion, concentration of all our energies, and eternal vigilance 
are the price of victory. He will tell you that the more we 
put into life, the more we get out of it. 

To the lawyer life is a great tribunal in which men are 
ever subjected to the most scrutinizing examination at the 
bar of conscience and public opinion. 

To the physician life is a continual struggle between health 
and disease, with the powers • of life and the powers of 
death, in which the odds are against us and in which we 
finally become victims, falling in apparent defeat. 

To the manufacturer life is the development and refine- 
ment of raw material or the adjustment of material for serv- 
ice. He tells us that men have learned by experience that it 
pays to use only the best. 

To the athlete life appears as a contest. It becomes a 
struggle for mastery or a race in which the runner must 
divest himself of every impediment and bend every muscle 
in order to win. 

* (17) 



18 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



To the soldier life takes the form of a battle. In fact, 
every man's heart is a battle field and every life a campaign. 
No one is exempt. As soon as we are born the forces of 
good and evil are marshaled in deadly struggle for su- 
premacy. They pitch their tents on the pure white field of 
infant character. Their fiercest struggle is brought on in 
youth, when the victory is largely determined for one or the 
other. But there is no discharge in this war. It is either 
ignominy and defeat or glorious victory. 

To the sailor life is a voyage. This is one of the most 
graphic illustrations of life. Loosing the ropes and lifting 
the gangway represent entrance upon our existence here. 
The peaceful sail in the placid waters of the harbor is like 
the joyous days of childhood, when there are no clouds, but 
all is sunshine and music. Crossing the bar is the critical 
period of youth, when we are breaking away from home ties, 
when familiar and deeply cherished things pass out of vision, 
and we enter upon the real voyage. Here the clouds are to 
gather above us, while the thunder rolls in successive peals 
over the mighty deep and the vivid lightning writes the 
divine autograph upon the dark sky, while the huge billows 
chase each other in wild fury, at one moment lifting us to 
mountain heights, at another letting us down to the depths. 
Storm and calm, light and darkness, sunshine and shadow 
alternate until the voyage is ended. After a while some one 
cries, "Land, ho!" and we cast anchor on the other shore. 
This idea of life is beautifully expressed in Tennyson's 
"Crossing the Bar" : 

Sunset and evening star, 

And one clear call for me ! 
And may there be no moaning of the bar, 

When I put out to sea. 
But such a tide as moving seems asleep, 

Too full for sound and foam, 
When that which drew from out the boundless deep 

Turns again home. 



THE LITERARY VIEW OF LIFE. 



*9 



Twilight and evening bell, 

And after that the dark! 
And may there be no sadness of farewell 

When I embark; 
For, though from out our bourne of time and place 

The flood may bear me far, 
I hope to see my Pilot face to face 

When I have crossed the bar. 

But to the student of literature life becomes a book. 
Richard Grove (1652) said: "Man is like a book. His birth 
is the title-page to the book ; his baptism is the epistle dedi- 
catory ; his groans and crying are the epistle to the reader ; 
his infancy and childhood are the table of contents of the 
whole ensuing treatise; his life and actions are the subject 
matter of the book; his sins and errors of life are the errata 
and faults escaped in printing, and his repentance is the cor- 
rection of them. Now, among books, we know some are 
large volumes, in folio; some little ones, decimosexto; and 
some are of other sizes, in octavo or quarto. Again, some 
of these are fairer bound, some in a plainer manner ; some 
are bound in strong vellum or leather and some in thin 
paper. Some, again, have piety for their subject and treat of 
godliness ; others are profane pamphlets, full of wantonness 
and folly. But in the last page of every one of them there 
stands a word which is 'Finis/ implying the end of all." 

How suggestive this analogy! Its title-page is a sum- 
mons to meditation. There are three great days in the life 
of every man— his birth, his marriage, and his death. The 
greatest institution in the world is a baby. Mark Twain 
says : "Why, a baby is just a house and front yard full all 
by itself ! One baby can furnish more business than you 
and your interior department can attend to. He is enterpris- 
ing, irrepressible, brimful of lawless activities. Do what 
you please, you can't make him stay on the reservation. Suf- 
ficient unto the day is one baby. Twins amount to a perfect 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



riot, and there isn't any difference between triplets and an 
insurrection/' 

The birth of a baby is a great epoch in any household. 
It ushers into the world a bundle of possibilities. As the 
mother sings her lullaby songs, which henceforth nestle and 
coo in the inner temple of the soul forever, she looks into 
the eyes of her child and dreams of far-away days and 
doings when her darling will be a factor in the achievements 
of the great. He may, like Horatius, be a brave soldier, and 
with bloody battle-ax hold an invading army at bay; or, 
like Napoleon, overcome the impossible and say, "It must be 
done" ; or, like Leonidas with his three hundred daring and 
dauntless heroes, hold some critical point in the world's 
problems ; or, like Washington, become the idol of a nation ; 
or, like Lee, become forever enshrined in the affections of 
devoted countrymen. He may become a great poet like 
Shakespeare, whose skillful hand touched every chord of 
human passion and the music of whose harp echoed from 
every shore of human life. He may become an able states- 
man like Bismarck or Gladstone or Jefferson. He may be- 
come a great teacher and, like Socrates or Gamaliel or Mi^rk 
Hopkins, stamp his impress upon the life and character of 
those who come within range of his personality. He may 
become a reformer and, like Luther or Wesley, change the 
whole social and religious life of the world. He may de- 
velop into a great preacher and, like Paul or Whitefield or 
Beecher or Spurgeon or Brooks or Bushnell, give new in- 
spiration to the religious life of a nation. But, on the other 
hand, he may disappoint every expectation, blight every fond 
hope, and crush every cherished ideal for his life. Some of 
the greatest tragedies of life are parental disappointments. 

But our analogy presents the groans and the cries as the 
preface. To the parent at least this is the most memorable 
period. At first the father finds it difficult to go to sleep for 
fear that he will not hear the first whimper of the dear little 



THE LITERARY VIEW OF LIFE. 



21 



thing, but later on the poor child must cry itself hoarse to 
arouse the snoring parent. 

Next is the table of contents — childhood. Here we are 
notified of what is to follow and what we may expect. "The 
child is father to the man." It is the period for laying the 
foundation. How important it is that care be taken in the 
selection of the material! In concluding that memorable 
Sermon on the Mount, the Magna Charta of Christianity, 
the Great Teacher said: "Therefore whosoever heareth these 
sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a 
wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain 
descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat 
upon that house ; and it fell not : for it was founded upon a 
rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and 
doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which 
built his house upon the sand : and the rain descended, and 
the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that 
house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it." It is the 
arrangement of the program of life. Every life has a mis- 
sion, and this is the time to plan for worthy execution. 
Childhood is the outline of life's picture; by the touches of 
the subsequent years it is brought to perfection. 

Now here are the contents of the Book — the deeds of 
life. What a variety of books from the standpoint of con- 
tents — poetic, historic, philosophic, scientific, devotional! 
By the volume of our lives we make our contribution to the 
world. It is said that Lincoln in his youth had access to only 
four books : the Bible, "Pilgrim's Progress," Weems's "Life 
of Washington," and Burns's poems. Here we have divine 
truth, devotional reading, biography, and literature. So we 
are to receive into our lives and transmit to others. Our 
lives are the avenues of communication, and through char- 
acter our message is conveyed to the world. 

Some one has said that a library is a graveyard where in- 
tellects are buried. Let us say rather that a library is a 



22 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



paradise where the spirits of the great meet and mingle and 
whisper their messages to all who will listen. It is here we 
hold fellowship with the great. In history we walk beside 
the world's mighty actors ; in literature we sit at the feet of 
the thinkers ; gazing upon their paintings, we feel the heart 
throbs of the masters. 

This is a practical world, and we make up the volume of 
life by deeds. This is a practical age, and it demands fruit. 
It requires service rather than worship, conduct rather than 
creed, character rather than confession. The Church that 
emphasizes the mere acknowledgment of a confession or the 
repetition of a creed or the execution of a ritual, rather 
than the development of brotherhood and the ministry of 
helpfulness and service to humanity, should, like Sir John 
Moore, be "left alone in its glory." And this recalls the 
beautiful little poem, "The Great Guest Came" : 

While the cobbler mused there passed his pane 

A beggar drenched by the driving rain; 

He called him in from the stormy street, 

And gave him shoes for his bruised feet 

The beggar went; and there came a crone, 

Her face with wrinkles of sorrow sown; 

A bundle of fagots -bowed her back, 

And she was spent with the wrench and the rack. 

He gave her his loaf and steadied her load 

As she took her way on the weary road. 

Then to his door came a little child, 

Lost and afraid in the world so wild — 

In the big, dark world. Catching it up, 

He gave it milk in the waiting cup, 

And led it home to the mother's arms, 

Out of the reach of the world's alarms. 

The day went down in the crimson west, 

And with it the hope of the "Blessed Guest"; 

And Conrad sighed, as the world turned gray: 

"Why is it, Lord, that your feet delay? 

Did you forget that this was the day?" 

Then soft in the distance a voice was heard: 



THE LITERARY VIEW OF LIFE. 



"Lift up your heart, for I've kept my word; 

Three times I came to your friendly door, 

Three times my shadow was on your floor. 

I was the beggar with bruised feet; 

I was the woman you gave to eat; 

I was the child on the homeless street." 

Then there are the errata — the sins and imperfections of 
this book we call life. Many of the pages are marred by 
these. Sin is either a violation of the law or a lack of con- 
formity to the law. This brings up the division into sins of 
commission and sins of omission, the former indicating actual 
transgression ; the latter, the neglect of duty. How are these 
to be remedied ? By repentance. Repentance is a godly sor- 
row for sin and a determination to quit sin. There is a sense 
in which this correcting process is perpetual. The nearer 
we get to the light, the more imperfections are revealed in 
our lives. "If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, 
we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus 
Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin." 

Finally we come to the end of the volume — finis. But 
there is a library beyond. Many years before his death Ben- 
jamin Franklin wrote the following epitaph for his own 
tombstone : "The body of Benjamin Franklin (like the cover 
of an old book, its contents torn out, and stripped of its let- 
tering and gilding) lies here, food for worms. Yet the work 
itself shall not be lost; for it will (as he believed) appear 
once more in a new and more beautiful edition, corrected 
and amended by the Author." 

May the volumes of our lives be so written that they will 
be worthy of a place in the library of heaven ! 

Questions. 

1. What largely determines our conception of life? 

2. How does life appear to the traveler? 

3. How does life appear to the business man ? 

4. How does life appear to the lawyer ? 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



5. How does life appear to the physician? 

6. How does life appear to the merchant? 

7. How does life appear to the athlete ? 

8. How does life appear to the soldier? 

9. How does life appear to the sailor ? 

10. How does life appear to the student of literature? 

11. Accepting life as a book, 

(1) What is the title-page? 

(2) What is the table of contents? 

(3) What is the errata? 

(4) What is the end of the volume? 

Bibliography. 

The biographies of the Bible. 

"Literature and Life." 

Atkins's "Moral Muscle." 

Waite's "The Gospel in Athletic Phrases." 

Arnold's "Literature and Dogma." 



\ 



CHAPTER II. 
The Writings of Wesley. 



CHAPTER II. 



The Writings of Wesley. 

It is difficult to realize that John Wesley ever found time 
to write anything. His itinerant life, beginning in England, 
soon extended to Wales, Scotland, Ireland, America, and 
other places. His ministerial life covered a period of 
about fifty years. It is estimated that during this time he 
traveled over a quarter of a million of miles and preached 
more than forty-two thousand sermons. This gives an 
average of over two sermons per day for each day in the 
entire fifty years. That sounds rather fabulous to a man 
who now finds it difficult to preach two sermons per week. 

But Mr. Wesley soon recognized the power of the press 
as an agency for the dissemination of truth and the eleva- 
tion of character. Before going to Georgia he issued one 
sermon and a revised edition of Kempis's "Christian Pat- 
tern," and after his return to England he entered upon a 
course of literary labor of most gigantic proportions. 

His resort to the printing press and his entrance upon 
literary labors grew out of two causes : a desire to counteract 
the pernicious influence of the unwholesomeness of the 
literature prevalent at that time and to instruct his own 
people. He was not an author by choice. That deep spirit- 
uality that led him completely to consecrate his energies to 
evangelism precluded the adoption of literature as a pro- 
fession. All his writings were subordinate to the one su- 
preme passion of his soul and were made to contribute to the 
realization of his one all-controlling purpose. Deeply con- 
scious of a divine mission and with an alert mind ever look- 
ing for the most effective means, Mr. Wesley could not over- 
look the press and the printed page. If literature be a mir- 
ror reflecting the spirit of the age, there was a crying need 

(27) 



28 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



for some one to arise who could turn the thought of the peo- 
ple into purer currents than those to which they were then 
accustomed. The social degradation, the intellectual anar- 
chy, the moral pollution, and the spiritual apathy of the age 
had a striking contrast in the benevolent enterprise, the men- 
tal vigor, the ethical ideals, and the holy illumination of Wes- 
ley and his followers. A study of ecclesiastical history re- 
veals the record of Christianity's loss of original simplicity 
and power and how it became a vast system of ritualism, 
under the blighting effect of which public morals and private 
spiritual life became largely superseded by Church rites. 
The history of the time between the Restoration and the 
birth of Methodism is characterized by the most startling evi- 
dences of the decay of morals and religion. Watts speaks 
of the general decay of vital religion in the hearts and lives 
of men, both Dissenters and Churchmen, and calls upon 
every one to use all possible efforts for the recovery of dying 
religion in the world. 

Isaac Taylor says : "When Wesley appeared, the Anglican 
Church was an ecclesiastical system under which the people 
of England had lapsed into heathenism or a state hardly 
to be distinguished from it." Even Lecky, after speaking 
of the low state of morals and religion, says in reference to 
Methodism : "The creation of a large, powerful, and active 
sect, extending over both hemispheres, was but one of its 
consequences. It also exercised a profound and lasting in- 
fluence upon the spirit of the Established Church, upon the 
amount and the distribution of the moral forces of the na- 
tion, and even upon the course of its political history." 

Pope's blighting pantheism and Bolingbroke's bolder in- 
fidelity afforded entertainment and amusement for the fash- 
ionable. Swift and Stern were leading literary divines, and 
Fielding and Smollett were regarded as stars in the firma- 
ment of fiction. And, strange to say, the literature of the 
Church was more or less degenerate. It bore the marks 



THE WRITINGS OF WESLEY. 



2 9 



of scholarly attainments, but was without spiritual religion — 
the inspiring soul of Church literature. Butler seems to 
form an exception, but his book was for the intellectual 
giants. It remained for Mr. Wesley to translate the ma- 
jestic thought of Butler into the dialect of the common peo- 
ple. No man ever lived who placed a greater mass of 
evangelical literature in the hands of the people. The books 
he wrote and published were positive and beneficial, calcu- 
lated to make them wise and useful and good. He wrote 
for neither fame nor emolument. 

Candor compels the admission that Wesley approached 
literature with less of what is known as the literary spirit 
than any other man that ever published so many books. 
Literature to him was not a mere recreation nor yet an end 
within itself. It was a means to be used for the accomplish- 
ment of an end, a weapon to be used in conflict with error, 
a tool to be used for urgent work. This accounts for the 
immense and almost incredible output of his pen. Including 
thirty works prepared in conjunction with his brother 
Charles, John Wesley's publications number three hundred 
and seventy-one. The number and the variety of his writ- 
ings startle us. To enumerate his books would tax the 
memory of even a bookworm, and a catalogue of their titles 
would produce a considerable pamphlet. It is marvelous 
how this evangelist of the gospel of spirituality ever found 
time to write tracts, grammars, exercises, dictionaries, ad- 
dresses, apologies, a miscellaneous monthly magazine, works 
polemical, classical, poetical, scientific, political, and on al- 
most every phase of the life of his day. He was a man not 
only of uncommon piety, but of extraordinary learning as 
well. Though a very busy man, he cultivated those literary 
instincts with which he was so richly endowed. As a result 
he became familiar not only with the great works of Eng- 
lish literature, but with those of the Greek, Latin, French, 
German, Italian, and Spanish. Professor Winchester says : 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



"Wesley was a scholar of the old school. He could stand 
Macaulay's test of a scholar — he could read Greek with his 
feet on the fender." 

The writings of Wesley may be divided into four classes : 
personal, polemical, educational, and miscellaneous. 

I. Personal Writings. — The term "personal" in this con- 
nection is used to indicate those writings in the form of 
special sermons, tracts, and personal appeals. Many of his 
appeals were addressed to the human conscience and were 
designed to turn men from sin to righteousness. Wesley 
antedated the Religious Tract Society by over fifty years. 
That society was organized in 1799, but as early as 1742 he 
w T as engaged in writing, printing, and circulating leaflets and 
pamphlets containing pungent appeals to various classes: 
drunkards, swearers, Sabbath breakers, etc. 

In 1745, the year of the Stewart Rebellion, he says : "We 
had within a short time given away some thousands of little 
tracts among the common people, and it pleased God thereby 
to provoke others to jealousy, insomuch that the Lord 
Mayor had ordered a large quantity of papers, dissuading 
from cursing and swearing, to be printed and distributed 
among the train bands." Among the tracts and pamphlets 
by Wesley were these: "A Word to a Drunkard," "To a 
Sabbath Breaker," "To a Swearer," "To a Street Walker," 
"To a Smuggler,"* "To a Condemned Malefactor," "To a 
Freeholder," "Just before an Election," "A Word to a Prot- 
estant," "Thoughts on the Earthquake at Lisbon." Many 
of these were written at spare moments snatched from his 
strenuous life. Getting thoroughly wet on a journey, he 
stopped at a halting place to dry his clothes: "I took the 
opportunity of writing 'A Word to a Freeholder.' " Upon 
another occasion he says: "The tide was in. I sat down 
in a little cottage for three or four hours and translated 
'Aldrich's Logic.' " These instances show how wisely he 
redeemed his time and how generously he gave of himself 



THE WRITINGS OF WESLEY. 



31 



to enrich every moment for the betterment of the world. 
His preachers were supplied with these tracts and went forth 
distributing them like leaves for the healing of a nation. 

The following excerpts will serve to illustrate the style 
of writing displayed in the tracts : 

From "A Word to a Sabbath Breaker" : "For whose sake 
does God lay claim to this day — for his sake or thine? 
Doubtless not for his own. He needed not thee nor any 
child of man. 'Look unto the heavens and see, and behold 
the clouds which are higher than thou. If thou sinnest, 
what doest thou against him? If thou art righteous, what 
givest thou him ? Or what receiveth he at thy hand ?' For 
thy own sake he calleth thee to serve him. For thy own 
sake he demands a part of thy time to be restored to him 
that gave thee all. Acknowledge his love. Learn while 
thou art on earth to praise the King of heaven. Spend this 
day as thou hopest to spend that day which never shall have 
an end." 

From "A Word to a Drunkard" : "Are you a man ? God 
made you a man, but you make yourself a beast. Wherein 
does a man differ from a beast? Is it not chiefly in reason 
and understanding? But yon throw away what reason you 
have. You strip yourself of your understanding. You do 
all you can to make yourself a mere beast; not a fool, not 
a madman only, but a swine, a poor filthy swine. Go and 
wallow with them in the mire ! Go, drink on, till thy naked- 
ness be uncovered and shameful spewing be on thy glory! 
O how honorable is a beast of God's making compared to 
one who makes himself a beast ! But that is not all. You 
make yourself a devil. You stir up all the devilish tempers 
that are in you and gain others which perhaps were not in 
you; at least you heighten and increase them. You cause 
the fire of anger or malice or lust to burn seven times hot- 
ter than before. At the same time you grieve the Spirit of 
God till you drive him quite away from you, and whatever 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



spark of good remained in your soul you drown and quench 
at once." 

From "A Word to a Swearer" : "God seeth thee now ; his 
eyes are upon thee; he observes all thy thoughts; he com- 
passeth thy path ; he counteth all thy steps ; he is acquainted 
with all thy ways; by him thy actions are weighed; nor is 
there a word in thy tongue but he knoweth it altogether." 

From "A Word to a Condemned Malefactor": "What a 
condition you are in ! The sentence is passed ; you are con- 
demned to die, and this sentence is to be executed shortly. 
You have no way to escape. These fetters, these walls, these 
gates and bars, these keepers cut off all hope ; therefore die 
you must. But must you die like a beast without thinking 
what it is to die? You need not; you will not; you will 
think a little first ; you will consider : 'What is death ?' It is 
leaving this world, these houses, lands, and all things under 
the sun, leaving all these things, never to return; your place 
will know you no more. It is leaving these pleasures, for 
there is no eating, drinking, gaming, no merriment in the 
grave. It is leaving your acquaintances, companions, 
friends, your father, mother, wife, children. You cannot 
stay with them, neither can they go with yon ; you must part, 
perhaps forever. It is leaving a part of yourself, leaving 
this body which has accompanied you so long. Your soul 
must now drop its old companion to rot and molder in the 
dust. It must enter upon a new unbodied state. It must 
stand naked before God." 

These selections are amply sufficient to give us an insight 
into the style of Mr. Wesley as displayed in this department 
of his writings. It is very evident that he was no hunter 
after pretty phrases or high-sounding sentences. On the 
contrary, his literary ideal seems to have consisted of plain 
words, short sentences, and clear thinking. In 1788 he 
writes : "I dare no more write in a fine style than wear a fine 
coat. A man with one foot in the grave must waste no time 



THE WRITINGS OF WESLEY. 



33 



on ornament. But were it otherwise, had I time to spare, 
I should still write just as I do. I should purposely decline 
what many admire — a highly ornamented style. I cannot 
admire French oratory ; I despise it from my heart." 

Some one may say that this is the feeling of an old man, 
but it seems ever to have been his ideal, for as early as 1764 
he had written : "As for me, I never think of my style at all, 
but just set down my words that come first. Only when I 
transcribe anything for the press, then I think it my duty 
to see that every phrase be clear, pure, and proper. Con- 
ciseness (which is now, as it were, natural to me) brings 
quantum sufficit of strength. If, after all, I observe any 
stiff expression, I throw it out, neck and shoulders. Clear- 
ness, in particular, is necessary for you and me, because we 
are to instruct people of the lowest understanding." 

In his criticism of Wesley's writings Leslie Stephen says : 
"He shows remarkable literary power. His writings are 
means to a direct, practical end. It would be difficult to 
find any letters more direct, forcible, and pithy in expression. 
He goes straight to the mark without one superfluous 
flourish. He writes as a man confined within the narrowest 
limits of time and space, whose thoughts are so well in hand 
that he can say everything needful in those limits. The 
compression gives emphasis and never causes confusion." 

2. Polemical Writings. — Mr. Wesley was not by nature a 
controversialist, for he was one of the most patient, tolerant, 
and forgiving men that ever lived. He was patient with 
men's faults, tolerant of their individual opinions, and for- 
giving in reference to personal attacks. He was not likely 
to engage in needless controversy or to embroil himself in 
unnecessary disputes. While about his personality and work 
there ever was a storm of controversy, it was not of his 
choosing, and he only entered the field of polemics with an 
all-consuming desire to defend the truth and extend the 
kingdom of righteousness. 
3 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



His first controversy was with the Moravians, his former 
friends. It grew out of his conviction that he discovered 
among them dangerous tendencies to mysticism in belief and 
unsafe license in practice. Taking his controversial writ- 
ings as a whole, we find that three great subjects engaged 
his attention. 

(i) The slanders about himself and the misrepresenta- 
tions in regard to his work. After the appearance of Bishop 
Lavington's libelous book on Methodism, many volumes of 
similar character appeared. The most prominent of these 
were: Nott's "Bampton Lectures/' Nightingale's "Portrai- 
ture of Methodism," Dr. Bennett's "History of the Dis- 
senters," Philip's "Life of Whitefield," and Conder's "Ana- 
lytical View of All Religions." Among Mr. Wesley's per- 
sonal defenses may be mentioned his "Appeals to Men of 
Reason and Religion." These are of such an earnest and 
dignified character that they deserve to have a place by the 
side of the "Apologies" of the early Church. In the first 
appeal, after skillfully handling the objections, he makes a 
manly appeal to men who pride themselves on their reason 
as to the unreasonableness of an ungodly life, thus wound- 
ing them with arrows taken from their own quiver. In the 
second appeal there are three parts, the first of which is 
almost wholly defensive, while the second is a fearless ex- 
posure of commonly practiced sins, and the third restates 
the defense and accentuates the rebuke. The first appeal 
was written in 1744. Here is a specimen: "Behold, the day 
of the Lord is come ! He is again visiting and redeeming his 
people. Having eyes, see ye not? Having ears, do ye not 
hear, neither understand with your hearts? At this hour 
the Lord is rolling away our reproach. Already his stand- 
ard is set up. His Spirit is poured forth on the outcasts 
of men and his love shed abroad in their hearts. Love of 
all mankind, meekness, gentleness, humbleness of mind, 
holy and heavenly affections do take the place of hate, anger, 



THE WRITINGS OF WESLEY. 



35 



pride, and revenge and vile or vain affections. Hence wher- 
ever the power of the Lord spreads springs outward reli- 
gion in all its forms. The houses of God are rilled ; the table 
of the Lord is thronged on every side. And those who thus 
show their love of God show they love their neighbor also 
by being careful to maintain good works also, by doing all 
manner of good, as they have time, to all men. They are 
careful likewise to abstain from all evil. Cursing, Sabbath- 
breaking, drunkenness, with all other (however fashionable) 
works of the devil, are not once named among them. All 
this is plain, demonstrable fact. For this also is not done 
in a corner. Now, do ye acknowledge the day of your visita- 
tion? Do you bless God and rejoice therein?" 

(2) Theological controversies. In this field we find Wes- 
ley's largest and ablest contribution to polemical literature 
— his work on "Original Sin." It was written in reply to 
Dr. John Taylor, himself an able Unitarian minister. While 
Mr. Wesley treats his antagonist with courtesy, he at the 
same time strives with great zeal to demolish the objection- 
able system of theology. The author first considers the sub- 
ject in relation to the state of mankind, past and present. 
Following this historical review, the Scriptural proof and 
definition of the doctrine are given, and then an exposition 
of the opponent's method of dealing with Scripture. Dr. 
Taylor had given answers to other writers on the subject; 
so Mr. Wesley examines these answers. Though the 
learned Doctor had replied to others, he never attempted an 
answer to Wesley. The treatise on "Original Sin" was writ- 
ten in 1756, and the following excerpt from the "Preface" 
will indicate the spirit and style of the discussion: "I am 
sensible in speaking on so tender a point as this must needs 
be to those who believe the Christian system there is danger 
of a warmth that does no honor to our cause, nor is it at 
all countenanced by the revelation which we defend. I de- 
sire neither to show nor to feel this, but 'to speak the truth 



36 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



in love' (the only warmth which the gospel allows) and to 
write with calmness, though not with indifference. There 
is likewise a danger of despising our opponents and of 
speaking with an air of contempt or disdain. I would gladly 
keep clear of this also, well knowing that a diffidence of 
ourselves is far from being a diffidence of our cause ; I dis- 
trust myself, not my argument. O that the God of the 
Christians might be with me, that his Spirit might give me 
understanding and enable me to think and 'speak as the 
oracles of God' without going from them to the right or the 
left!" 

(3) The Calvinistic controversy. This was Mr. Wesley's 
most voluminous controversy. On the one side were he and 
Fletcher; on the other the Hills and Toplady. These good 
men tilted each other's doctrinal shields in all earnestness, 
if at times with rather rude assaults; but they have long 
since met in holy fellowship in the land where no contro- 
versies arise and no polemics are needed. They have long 
ago found out wherein each was in error and hav£ stood 
face to face with the truth in the undimmed light of eternal 
day. Wesley never wrangled about trifles. He earnestly 
set forth his convictions on religious liberty, human de- 
pravity, justification by faith, sanctification by the Holy 
Spirit, and universal redemption. Among the works of Mr. 
Wesley written during this controversy may be mentioned 
"Predestination Calmly Considered," "A Dialogue between 
a Predestinarian and His Friend," "Thoughts on the Im- 
puted Righteousness of Christ," "What Is an Arminian?" 
and "Mr. Hill's Review," etc. The following is selected 
from "Predestination Calmly Considered": "Now, then, 
without any extenuation on the one hand or exaggeration 
on the other, let us look upon this doctrine, call it what you 
please, naked and in its native color. Before the founda- 
tions of the world were laid, God of his own will and pleasure 
fixed a decree concerning all the children of men who should 



THE WRITINGS OF WESLEY. 



be born to the end of the world. This degree was unchange- 
able with regard to God and irresistible with regard to man. 
And herein it was ordained, that one part of mankind should 
be saved from sin and hell, and all the rest left to perish 
forever and ever without help, without hope. That none 
of these should have that grace which alone could prevent 
their dwelling in everlasting burnings God decreed for this 
cause alone, 'because it was his good pleasure/ and for this 
end 'to show forth his power and his sovereignty over all 
the earth.' " 

Questions. 

1. What evidence have we of John Wesley's energy and industry? 

2. What did Mr. Wesley realize early in his ministry? 

3. What causes led to Mr. Wesley's use of the press? 

4. How does literature mirror an age? 

5. Judging from literature, what of the moral condition of the age 
when Methodism was born? 

6. Did Mr. Wesley approach literature in the usual "literary 
spirit" ? 

7. What evidence have we that Wesley was a prolific writer? 

8. What are the four divisions into which Mr. Wesley's writings 
may be classified? 

9. What of Wesley's style as a writer? 

10. What is his great literary production? 

Bibliography. 

Wesley's "Complete Works/'' 
Winchester's "Life of John Wesley." 
Fichett's "Wesley and His Century." 
Southey's "Life of Wesley." 



CHAPTER III. 
The Writings of Wesley (Continued). 



CHAPTER III. 
The Writings of Wesley (Continued). 

Wesley was not only a zealous evangelist proclaiming the 
gospel of spirituality, but he was a successful educator as 
well. No man ever had more thorough intellectual equip- 
ment. His education began at the knee of Susanna Wes- 
ley, the model mother, and from childhood to the age of 
twenty-three he was under tutors and governors, passing 
through all grades of scholarship, from the primary school 
to a college fellowship, culminating practically in the head- 
ship of the colleges in the most famous university in the 
world. Taught in infancy to reduce his life to systematic 
industry, he applied himself with rare diligence, and lost 
as little time, perhaps, as any man in history. At the early 
age of ten he was placed in the Charterhouse School, Lon- 
don; at seventeen he entered Christ Church College, Ox- 
ford; received his A.M. degree at twenty- four; and for a 
period of nine years he was fellow in Lincoln College, where 
he became vice rector by the choice of the professors. This 
is sufficient to indicate his proficiency in the university studies 
in vogue at that time — Greek and Latin languages and litera- 
ture, the dialectics of Aristotle, history and philosophy. 
Even after his election to the fellowship he pursued his 
studies with systematic regularity for several years and 
added to previous acquirements a thorough knowledge of 
German, French, Italian, Spanish, Hebrew, and Arabic; 
also higher mathematics, including Euclid and the writings 
of Sir Isaac Newton. He could readily converse in Latin 
and German and could conduct the services of the Church 
in French and Italian. 

Dr. W. H. Fitchett in his "Wesley and His Century" 
says : "Himself a scholar, nurtured from his very childhood 

(41) 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



in an intellectual atmosphere, the fellow of a historic uni- 
versity, hate of ignorance was to him an instinct and a pas- 
sion. Knowledge and faith, he held, had the closest kin- 
ship. No member of his societies must remain untaught. 
And Wesley deliberately set himself to bring within the reach 
of his people the best literature the world at that day pos- 
sessed. He anticipated by more than a century the age of 
cheap books and popular literature." 

3. Wesley's Educational Writings. — A movement that was 
born in a university would naturally be expected to advocate 
the education of the people, and the history of Methodism 
has not been disappointing in this respect. The creed of 
Methodism has ever taught the dignity and worth of our 
nature. Catching a true vision of both God and man as 
illustrated in Christ, it realized the kinship of the two 
natures and the possibility of the restoration of the latter 
to the image of the former. So the work of the Church is 
not only evangelistic but educational. It must not only call 
men to repentance, by which they realize their kinship to 
the divine, but it must by educational processes and means 
develop the divine in every man. This was the starting 
point, and the world owes to Mr. Wesley the idea of popu- 
lar education. 

As early as 1740 Mr. Wesley took charge of the famous 
school at Kingswood, started by Mr. Whitefield, which was 
a leader in the education of the masses. The school was en- 
larged in 1748, and then Mr. Wesley entered upon his edu- 
cational authorship. To provide for the needs of this school, 
and others as well, he prepared several textbooks, among 
which were "A Short English Grammar" and "A Short 
Latin Grammar." The latter marked an epoch in educa- 
tional work and progress. It was the first Latin grammar 
in English, all hitherto being in Latin and useless without a 
living teacher, and making the study even then very 'dif- 
ficult. But this example of Wesley is now universally fol- 



THE WRITINGS OF WESLEY. 



43 



lowed. He wrote "Histories" of Rome and of England, 
"Grammars" of the Latin, French, Greek, and Hebrew lan- 
guages. Two years before Dr. Johnson published his "Eng- 
lish Dictionary" Wesley issued his "The Complete English 
Dictionary," which reached a second edition in a few years. 
He prepared "Selections" from various authors for school 
use, a plan which has become so universal and popular. 
He also wrote an original work on elocution, the oldest in 
the English language, which, though condensed, contained 
all the fundamental principles of public speaking. He wrote 
a "Compendium of Logic," which was also a pioneer in the 
English language. He wrote a concise book on "Elec- 
tricity"; and while the world was still laughing at Frank- 
lin's claims of discovery, Wesley was introducing electricity 
into hospital work. Truly does Bishop Haven say: "For 
fertility of invention and commanding influence on succeed- 
ing generations Wesley deserves to rank among educators 
with Milton and Locke and Pestalozzi and Froebel." 

Following his work on electricity came one that must 
have taken much labor and time to produce — the one en- 
titled "A Survey of the Wisdom of God in the Creation; 
or, A Compendium of Natural Philosophy." Not least 
among his educational works was an "Extract of Milton's 
Paradise Lost, with Notes." 

Mr. Wesley's work on elocution, though concise, is a most 
admirable treatise, and should be read by every one desiring 
to understand the art of public speaking. It consists of 
four sections — namely: First, how we may speak so as to 
be heard without difficulty and with pleasure; secondly, 
general rules for the variation of the voice ; thirdly, particu- 
lars for varying the voice ; fourthly, of gesture. Following 
is the first paragraph: "Before we enter upon particular 
rules, I would advise all who can (i) to study the art of 
speaking betimes and to practice it as often as possible be- 
fore they have contracted any of the imperfections or vices 



44 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 

of speaking, for these may be easily avoided at first; but 
when they are once learned it is extremely difficult to un- 
learn them. I advise all young persons (2) to be governed 
in speaking, as in all things, by reason rather than example, 
and therefore to have a special care whom they imitate 
therein, and to imitate only what is right in their speaking, 
not their blemishes and imperfections. ,, 

The author mentions the following as the chief faults of 
speaking: (1) The speaking too loud. (2) The speaking 
too low. (3) The speaking in a thick, cluttering manner. 
(4) The speaking too fast. (5) The speaking too slow. 

(6) The speaking with an irregular, desultory, and uneven 
voice, raised or depressed unnaturally and unseasonably. 

(7) But the greatest and most common fault of all is the 
speaking with a tone. Some have a womanish, squeaking 
tone ; some a singing or canting one ; some a high, swelling, 
theatrical tone, laying too much emphasis on every sentence ; 
some have an awful, solemn tone ; others an odd, whimsical, 
whining tone, not to be expressed in words. 

A very large part of Mr. Wesley's contribution to the lit- 
erature of his day consisted of abridgments of the works of 
other writers and their adaptation to the needs of the times 
and circumstances. His most prodigious achievement along 
this line of activity was the "Christian Library," consisting 
of fifty volumes. This library is a monument to his energy, 
ability, and benevolence. It was a large storehouse of in- 
tellectual and spiritual wealth placed within the easy reach 
of the masses. He seems never to have stopped to count 
the cost either in the expenditure of money or personal 
energy. His only purpose was to bring the best products 
of the best minds within the reach of the needy ; so in the 
"Christian Library" the finest productions of the Christian 
minds of the generations are brought together. Here we 
find the works of such master minds as Clement, Ignatius, 
and Polycarp; St. Ambrose, Arndt, and John Fox; Hall, 



THE WRITINGS OF WESLEY. 



45 



Leighton, and Tillotson. Here the readers found fellowship 
with South, Cave, Manton, Cudworth, and Jeremy Taylor, 
as well as Baxter, Howe, Flaval, and Owen ; likewise Brain- 
erd, Janeway, and Young. He did not confine himself to 
native books, but brought in such foreign treasures as Pas- 
cal, De Renty, and Bengel. Such a task had never been at- 
tempted before and has not been surpassed since. Besides 
this famous library, there were sixty-seven other abridg- 
ments and translations, making in all one hundred and seven- 
teen volumes. 

This gigantic enterprise was achieved at a financial loss 
to Mr. Wesley. His loss, however, was made up by the 
income from other sources, so that he was not hampered in 
his noble work. 

After a few years this valuable compilation was followed 
by a monthly magazine containing articles partly original 
and partly selected, and containing at once "milk" for the 
intellectual and spiritual babes and "meat" for those of 
riper age and powers. On the title-page of Mr. Wesley's 
dictionary is an "N. B." that runs thus, "The author assures 
you he thinks this the best English dictionary in the world," 
and the following paragraph from the "Preface" will show 
that the sedate and scholarly author was not entirely devoid 
of humor : "I should add no more, but I have so often ob- 
served that the only way, according to the modern taste, 
for any author to procure commendation to his book is vehe- 
mently to commend it himself. For the want of this defer- 
ence to the public several excellent tracts lately printed, 
but left to commend themselves by their intrinsic worth, are 
utterly unknown or forgotten ; whereas if a writer of toler- 
able sense will but bestow a few violent encomiums on his 
own work, especially if they are skillfully arranged in the 
title-page, it will pass through six editions in a trice, the 
world being too complaisant to give a gentleman the lie and 
taking it for granted he understands his own performance 



46 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



best. In compliance, therefore, with the taste of the age, 
I add that this little dictionary is not only the shortest and 
cheapest but likewise by many degrees the most correct 
which is extant at this day. Many are the mistakes in all 
the other English dictionaries which I have seen; whereas 
I can truly say I know of none in this. And I can conceive 
the reader will believe me ; for if I had, I should not have 
left it there. Use, then, this help till you find a better." 

As to his purpose in writing this book he says: "As in- 
credible as it may appear, I must allow that this dictionary 
is not published to get money, but to assist persons of com- 
mon sense and no learning to understand the best English 
authors, and that with as little expense of either time or 
money as the nature of the thing will allow. To this end 
it contains not a heap of Greek and Latin words just tagged 
with English terminations (for no good English writer, 
none but vain and senseless pedants, give these any place 
in their writings) ; not a scroll of barbarous law expressions, 
which are neither Greek, Latin, nor good English; not a 
crowd of technical terms, the meaning whereof is to be 
sought in books expressly written on the subjects to which 
they belong." 

4. Wesley's Miscellaneous Writings. — Under this section 
may be found works that might have easily been placed 
under preceding classifications, but for sufficient reasons 
the present arrangement is selected. His miscellaneous 
works were so numerous and various that they defy classifi- 
cation. He stood ready to offer the people assistance on any 
topic upon which they needed help or guidance. He pro- 
vided instruction and counsel on the grave problems of life 
and character and did not forget to provide lighter reading 
for their leisure hours, as some of his poetical productions 
and "Henry, Earl of Moreland," will show. 

Mr. Wesley's printed sermons were the result of the ever- 
present desire to furnish the people with adequate and 



THE WRITINGS OF WESLEY. 



47 



wholesome literature. At an early stage of his work it 
became apparent to him that some plain, simple, and definite 
statement of the theology of the great revival must be pro- 
duced as an explanation and a perpetuating influence. 
Hence we have his first series of sermons, consisting of fifty- 
three discourses, which still form the Doctrinal Standards 
of Methodism. He says that his purpose in writing these 
sermons was to furnish plain truth for plain people. His 
aim was to state the great doctrines of Christianity in fresh, 
direct, and untechnical language. The only books at his 
side while he wrote these sermons were the Hebrew Bible 
and the Greek Testament. In the preface to the printed ser- 
mons he says: "The following sermons contain the sub- 
stance of what I have been preaching for between eight and 
nine years last past. During that time I have frequently 
spoken in public on every subject in the ensuing collection, 
and I am not conscious that there is any point of doctrine 
on which I am accustomed to speak in public which is not 
here, incidentally, if not professedly, laid before every 
Christian reader. Every serious man who peruses them will 
therefore see in the clearest manner what these doctrines 
are which I embrace and teach as essentials of true reli- 
gion." (Written in 1747.) 

Rev. M. Lelievre, a distinguished French Methodist, 
says : "Wesley as an organizer has usurped public attention 
to such an extent as to quite obscure his character as a 
preacher. And yet in his power and success as a preacher 
was laid the foundation of all his power and success as an 
organizer. He was, in simple truth, the most awakening and 
spiritually penetrating and powerful preacher of his age. 
Whitefield was more dramatic but less intense ; more pic- 
torial but less close and forcible, less incisive and conclu- 
sive. In Wesley's calmer discourses lucid and engaging 
exposition laid the basis for close and searching application. 
In his more intense utterances logic and passion were fused 



48 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



into a white heat of mingled argument, denunciation, and 
appeal, often of a most personal searchingness, often over- 
whelming in vehement home thrusts." 

Wesley's calmer method and power of reasoning are il- 
lustrated in his "Appeals to Men of Reason and Religion," 
reference to which has already been made in these studies 
and a specimen of which has been given. The fervor of his 
preaching reaches high-water mark in his famous sermon 
on "Free Grace." Here is a specimen : "The grace or love 
of God, whence cometh our salvation, is free in all and 
free for all. First, it is free in all to whom it is given. It 
does not depend upon any power or merit in man; no, not 
in any degree, neither in whole nor in part. It does not in 
any wise depend either on the good works or righteousness 
of the receiver; not on anything he has done or anything 
he is. It does not depend on his endeavors. It does not 
depend on his good tempers or good desires or good pur- 
poses and intentions, for all of these flow from the free 
grace of God; they are streams only, not the fountain. 
They are the fruits of free grace and not the root. They 
are not the cause but the effects of it. Whatsoever is good 
in man or is done by man, God is the author and doer of it. 
Thus is his grace free in all — that is, no way depending on 
any power or merit in man, but on God alone, who freely 
gave us his own Son and 'with him freely giveth all things/ 
But is it free for all as well as in all? To this some have 
answered, 'No/ It is free only for those whom God hath 
ordained to life, and they are but a little flock." 

With fervid eloquence the preacher then proceeds to 
handle the subject of predestination with the enthusiasm of 
an ardent Arminian. But the reader who turns to these 
printed sermons to find the secret of Wesley's power in the 
pulpit or any echoes of thrilling delivery by which, day after 
day, he held vast throngs in almost breathless attention 
is doomed to disappointment. They resemble the original 



THE WRITINGS OF WESLEY. 



49 



deliverance about as fossils resemble their originals. But 
though the living fervor of the magnetic speaker could not 
be transferred to the printed page and preserved for future 
generations, nevertheless these discourses are classics of 
pure, pointed, and plain production. Like his sermons, 
W esley's "Notes on the New Testament" were meant to be 
a manual of theology for his people. His knowledge of the 
Scriptures was characterized by minuteness and accuracy. 
In his "Revised New Testament," which he made as a basis 
for the "Notes," he anticipated every important change 
made by the translators in the Revised Version of the pres- 
ent day. Besides the "Notes on the New Testament," he 
prepared a similar, though less original, work on the Old 
Testament in three quarto volumes. 

Mr. Wesley was a constant writer of letters — "wrote 
more letters than Horace Walpole." In these he sometimes 
discusses in a friendly way the fundamentals of his creed; 
again he writes of personal matters; still again he gives 
wise counsel and direction ; or finally we may find vindica- 
tion of the course pursued in certain circumstances. A 
whole volume could be given to the study of these letters, 
but the scope of these studies forbids further mention here. 

And now let us turn to the masterpiece of his miscella- 
neous writings — his Journal. Here we see the man as he 
really was, not as he was represented by either friend or 
foe. Here we have the man's unconscious autobiography. 
Here the inner secrets of the man are laid bare. Perusing 
its pages we see how versatile, how industrious, how benev- 
olent, how patient under insult, how deeply concerned about 
the Divine honor and how indifferent to the honors men 
might confer upon him, his complete consecration to a great 
ideal, his culture, his courtesy, his combination of high and 
holy instinct — in fact, all that entered into one of the most 
marvelous characters that ever lived among men. Only 
portions of the Journal have been published, but the com- 
4 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



plete manuscript still exists, in twenty-six bound volumes, 
and it is sincerely hoped that some day it will be printed 
in full, for no doubt the unpublished portions contain much 
information in regard to the inner life and experiences of 
the author as well as to people. In speaking of Mr. Wes- 
ley, Professor Winchester says : "It were idle to ask whether 
he were the greatest man of his century. That century was 
rich in names the world calls great — great generals like 
Marlborough, great monarchs like Frederick, great states- 
men like Chatham and Burke, poets and critics like Pope 
and Johnson and Lessing, writers who helped revolutionize 
society like Voltaire and Rousseau ; but run over the whole 
brilliant list, and where among them all is the man whose 
motives were so pure, whose life was so unselfish, whose 
character was so spotless? And where among them all is 
the man whose influence — social, moral, religious — was 
productive of such vast good and of so little evil as that 
exerted by this plain man who himself exemplified and 
taught thousands of his followers to know what the religion 
of Jesus Christ really means?" 

The first paragraph of the Journal reads as follows: "It 
was in pursuance of an advice given by Bishop Taylor in 
his 'Rules of Holy Living and Dying' that about fifteen 
years ago I began to take a more exact account than I had 
done before of the manner wherein I spent my time, writing 
down how I had employed every hour. This I continued 
to do wherever I was till the time of my leaving England. 
The variety of scenes which I then passed through induced 
me to transcribe from time to time the more material parts 
cf my diary, adding here and there such little reflections as 
occurred to my mind.' , 

And now only a glimpse or two into this famous Journal : 

At four in the morning we took boat, and in half an hour landed 
at Deal, it being Wednesday, February I, the anniversary festival 
in Georgia for Mr. Oglethorpe's landing there. It is now two years 



THE WRITINGS OF WESLEY. 



51 



and almost four months since I left my native country in order to 
teach the Georgia Indians the nature of Christianity. But what 
have I learned myself in the meantime? Why (what I least of all 
suspected), that I, who had come to America to convert others, was 
never myself converted to God. 

Wednesday, February 1, 1738. — Many reasons have I to bless 
God, though the design I went upon did not take effect for my 
having been carried into a strange land contrary to all my preceding 
resolutions. Hereby I trust that he has in some measure humbled 
me and proved me and shown me what was in my heart. 

14th. — In the evening I went very unwillingly to a society in 
Aldersgate Street, where one was reading Luther's "Preface to the 
Epistle to the Romans." About a quarter before nine, while he was 
describing the change which God works in the heart through faith 
in Christ, I felt my heart strangely warmed. I felt I did trust in 
Christ, Christ alone, for salvation, and an assurance was given me 
that he had taken away my sins, even mine, and saved me from the 
law of sin and death. 

July 16. — In the morning, being by myself, I found the work of 
the Spirit was very powerful upon me (although, you know, God 
does not deal with every soul in the same way). As my mother 
bore me with great pain, so did I feel great pain in my soul in being 
born of God. Indeed, I thought the pains of death were upon me, 
that my soul was then taking leave of the body. In this violent 
agony I continued about four hours, and then I began to feel the 
Spirit of God bearing witness with my spirit that I was born of God. 

Monday, June 11, 1739 (writing to friends in London). — Suffer 
me now to tell you my principles in this matter. I look upon all 
the world a9 my parish; thus far, I mean, that in whatever part of 
it I am I judge it meet, right, and my bounden duty to declare unto 
all who are willing to hear the glad tidings of salvation. 

Thus we have the epochs of his spiritual development — 
conversion, witness of the Spirit, and consecration to a 
world mission. 

Questions. 

1. What of Wesley as an educator? 

2. What are some of Wesley's educational writings? 

3. What of Mr. Wesley's scholarship ? 

4. What particular elements in Wesley's sermons render them a 
permanent contribution to theological literature? 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



5. In what fields of literary effort was Wesley a leader? 

6. According to Mr. Wesley, what are the chief faults of public 
speaking? 

7. What constituted a large part of Wesley's contribution to the 
literature of his day? 

8. What of Wesley as a letter writer? 

9. How does Wesley fare when compared with the great men of 
his time? 

10. What led Wesley to keep a journal? 

Bibliography. 

Wesley's "Complete Works." 
Winchester's "Life of Wesley." 
Fitchett's "Wesley and His Century." 
Southey's "Life of Wesley/ 



CHAPTER IV. 
The Lyrics of Methodism. 



CHAPTER IV. 



The Lyrics of Methodism. 

Not the least product of the Wesleyan revival was the 
world's best and most inspiring lyric poetry. There was 
urgent need for improvement in the extant psalmody. The 
productions of Sternhold and Hopkins, as well as those of 
Tate and Brady, were so deficient as to be wholly unsuited 
for devotional and inspirational purposes. So inferior were 
the works of Sternhold and Hopkins that Wesley character- 
ised them as "miserable, scandalous doggerel." 

The fervent experiences, the great and fundamental doc- 
trines, the conscious realization of the presence of the divine 
always and everywhere were all calculated to inspire to the 
sublimest song. 

The first Methodist hymn book was issued while the 
Wesleys were in America and was published in Charleston, 
S. C, in 1737. The next year they issued one in England ; 
while in the year 1739, which was the epochal one of Meth- 
odism, their "Hymns and Sacred Poems" appeared and 
reached the second edition before the end of the year. Then 
followed in rapid succession every year and sometimes twice 
during the year new editions of these as well as new poetic 
works which were scattered throughout England, Wales, 
Scotland, Ireland, and America. This continued until there 
were forty-nine poetical publications to be numbered among 
their literary achievements. It has been well said that the 
achievement of Methodism in this respect alone is one of 
the most extraordinary historical facts of the last century. 
We can readily perceive- that its influence on the popular 
taste, intellectual as well as moral, was incalculably great 
and important. So revolutionary was its effect that the 
psalmody prevalent in the Church at the advent of this new 
movement was soon discarded and could not now be tol- 

(55) 



56 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



erated. The Wesleys soon towered far above all their 
predecessors in this department of literature, and no student 
of lyric poetry would now dare dispute their superiority. 
Their worthy example, as well as the religious needs of the 
day, elicited emulation ; so appeared the hymns of Toplady, 
Newton, Doddridge, and others. 

The Poetry of John Wesley. 

While the great work of John Wesley lay in other fields, 
he was endowed with considerable poetic genius, and his 
work in this department stands the test of rigid criticism. 
He had the poetic gift, and, so far as other pressing duties 
permitted, he used it for the glory of God and the benefit 
of humanity. At an early period he began to write and 
publish sacred poetry and kept it up for nearly fifty years. 
Among his poetical publications may be mentioned "Moral 
and Sacred Poems," "Hymns for Children," "Hymns for 
the Use of Families," "Epistles," "Elegies," "Funeral 
Hymns," "Extracts" from Herbert and Milton and Young, 
"Hymns with Tunes Attached," and "Doctrinal Controver- 
sies Versified." In his "Cry of the Reprobate" there is 
deepest pathos, while the "Hymns of God's Everlasting 
Love" contain biting sarcasm couched in rhythmic lan- 
guage. His intense patriotism finds expression in "Song 
on the Occurrence of a Threatened Invasion." 

What hymn breathes a deeper spirit of devotion than the 
one beginning 

We lift our hearts to thee, 
0 Day-Star from on high! 

which is entitled "A Morning Hymn" and is found in a 
collection published by Wesley in 1741 ? It is thought that 
the famous saying of Plato, "Lumen est umbra Dei" sug- 
gested to Mr. Wesley the third line of the first stanza, which 
reads : 

The sun itself is but thy shade. 



THE LYRICS OF METHODISM. 



57 



And in the fifth stanza we have a most appropriate prayer 
for the opening day : 

May we this life improve, 
. To mourn for errors past; 
And live this short, revolving day 
As if it were our last. 

No doubt the following grew out of the ripening experi- 
ence of the consecrated pilgrim as he journeyed toward the 
celestial city: 

How happy is the pilgrim's lot, 

How free from every anxious thought, 

From worldly hope and fear! 
Confined to neither court nor cell, 
His soul disdains on earth to dwell, 

He only sojourns here. 

This happiness in part is mine, 
Already saved from low design, 

From every creature-love; 
Blest with the scorn of finite good, 
My soul is lightened of its load, 

And seeks the things above. 

The things eternal I pursue; 
A happiness beyond the view 

Of those that basely pant 
For things by nature felt and seen; 
Their honors 4 , wealth, and pleasures mean, 

I neither have nor want. 

No foot of land do I possess, 
No cottage in the wilderness. 

A poor wayfaring man, 
I lodge awhile in tents below, 
Or gladly wander to and fro 

Till I my Canaan gain. 

Nothing on earth I call my own; 
A stranger, to the world unknown, 
I all their goods despise: 



58 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



I trample on their whole delight, 
And seek a city out of sight, 
A city in the skies. 

There is my house and portion fair; 
My treasure and my heart are there, 

And my abiding home; 
For me my elder brethren stay, 
And angels beckon me away, 

And Jesus bids me come. 

I come, thy servant, Lord, replies, 
I come to meet thee in the skies, 

And claim my heavenly rest ! 
Now let the pilgrim's journey end; 
Now, O my Saviour, Brother, Friend, 

Receive me to thy breast ! 

This beautiful lyric has elicited unstinted praise from its 
first appearance till the present. It was written in 1746 
and was published the next year in "Hymns for Those That 
Seek and Those That Have Redemption in the Blood of 
Jesus Christ." The saintly and sainted Mrs. Fletcher is 
said to have quoted on her deathbed the last six lines of it 
with telling effect. 

His Doxology, 

To God the Father, Son, 

And Spirit, One in Three, 
Be glory, as it was, is now, 

And shall forever be, 

is eminently worthy of a place by the side of those by 
Thomas Ken, Isaac Watts, and others. 

The Lyric Poetry of Charles Wesley. 

Rev. Charles Wesley was a man of scholarly instincts 
and attainments and was a preacher of great force and im- 
pressiveness, but it is as a writer of devotional poetry that 
he is to be permanently remembered. As a composer of 



THE LYRICS OF METHODISM. 



59 



beautiful hymns suitable to Christian worship he has no 
peer in the English language and perhaps stands alone in 
the realm of the uninspired. No other person has ever 
written so many hymns of surpassing beauty and excellence. 
It is estimated that his published hymns would make about 
ten duodecimo volumes, while those left in manuscript and 
evidently designed for publication would constitute at least 
ten more volumes. But the eminence of his productions is 
due not to their number but their excellence. Isaac Watts, 
who was Charles Wesley's only rival in this realm, freely 
and fully acknowledged the superior character of the work 
of Methodism's lyric poet. He said upon one occasion that 
he would give all he had ever written for the honor of being 
the author of Charles Wesley's unrivaled hymn entitled 
''Wrestling Jacob," the first stanza of which reads : 

Come, O thou Traveler unknown, 
Whom still I hold, but cannot see ; 

My company before is gone, 
And I am left alone with thee : 

With thee all night I mean to stay, 
And wrestle till the break of day. 

The original poem consisted of fourteen stanzas and is 
based upon Genesis xxxii. 24-26. James Montgomery, him- 
self a lyric poet of no mean ability, in his "Christian Psalm- 
ist" says: "Among Charles Wesley's highest achievements 
may be recorded, 'Come, O thou Traveler unknown,' in 
which with consummate art he carries on the action of a 
lyrical drama, every turn in the conflict with the mysterious 
Being against whom he wrestles all night being marked 
with precision by the varying language of the speaker, ac- 
companied by intense, increasing interest till the rapturous 
moment of the discovery, when he prevails and exclaims: 
'I know thee, Saviour, who thou art!'" 

In the poetical productions of Charles Wesley we have 
not only volume but variety. He presents every important 



6o STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



doctrine of the Bible, every degree and phase of religious 
experience, almost every shade of spiritual thought and 
feeling, and very nearly all the relations of human life. In 
this respect no poet has ever surpassed him. So great is 
the range covered in his writings that, in whatever condition 
in life we may find ourselves, we may turn to his works and 
find suitable material. His whole soul seemed to be under 
the sway of poetic genius, and his thoughts seemed to be 
ever at home in melody and rhythm. Rev. Dr. Abel Stevens 
says: "The variety of his meters (said to be unequaled by 
any English writer whatever) shows how impulsive were 
his poetic emotions and how wonderful his facility in their 
spontaneous and varied utterance. In the Wesleyan Hymn 
Book alone they amount to at least twenty-six, and others 
are found in his other productions. They march at times 
like lengthened processions with solemn grandeur; they 
sweep at other times like chariots of fire through the 
heavens ; they are broken like sobs of grief at the grave- 
side, play the joyful affections of childhood at the hearth, 
or shout like victors in the fray of the battle field. No man 
ever surpassed Charles Wesley in the harmonies of lan- 
guage. To him language was a diapason." 

There is an ease about his compositions that is really 
charming, and the reader ever feels that he is perusing the 
spontaneous expressions of a warm heart pulsating with 
emotion and music. He was a classic scholar, but it is 
doubtful if any man ever wrote in purer or stronger Eng- 
lish. Words of Greek, Latin, and French origin were rarely 
used, and then only for the sake of meter. But it was 
greatly to his advantage that he was familiar with the emi- 
nent poets of antiquity, for thus he became thoroughly con- 
versant with the laws of versification. Most exquisitely 
did he blend scholarship and simplicity; so while his senti- 
ments and language are admired by the most competent 
critics, his hymns are perfectly intelligible to the common 



THE LYRICS OF METHODISM. 



61 



people. His cadences never pall on the ear or weary the 
attention. Like landscape scenery or masterly musical com- 
positions, they perpetually charm by variety and novelty. 
Having in his own personal experiences passed through al- 
most every struggle and victory characterizing the soul 
in its progress toward the divine, extending from the 
depths of penitence to the summits of love, he could easily 
describe the way to others. In his own experience came 
the vision of his mission. Having a vision, his task was 
no mere drudgery ; having a task, his vision was not an idle 
dream. His fame, therefore, rests not only upon quantity 
but upon quality as well. 

It has been said in a previous paragraph that Mr. Wes- 
ley's only rival in the field under discussion is Isaac Watts, 
but the general opinion of competent critics is that the bard 
of Methodism is entitled to the place of honor. The Rev. 
B. F. Tefft, D.D., LL.D., whilom President of Genesee Col- 
lege and author of "Hungary and Kossuth," "Webster and 
His Masterpieces," etc., is entitled to consideration as a 
critic when it comes to questions of gradation in authorship. 
The following is a condensation of his study of the com- 
psrative merits of Watts and Wesley: 

Let any competent critic look through the whole range of English 
lyric poetry, from the rugged attempts of Sternhold to the sentimental 
hymns and psalms of Dr. Watts, and, unless prejudiced by ecclesi- 
astical connections, the balance of lyric genius will be bound to fall 
in favor of the Wesleyan bard. Dr. Watts is Mr. Charles Wesley's 
superior in the general structure of his sentences as well as in the 
flow and softness of his verse. His figures, however, are drawn too 
much from nature, and yet too little from that part of nature which 
has been rendered sacred and familiar by the penmen of Holy Writ 
There is a conceit, a pettiness in the style of Dr. Watts which we 
expect to find in the smaller poets of the sentimental class, but which 
mar the simple grandeur of devotional compositions. When a man 
lifts up his voice in the praises of Almighty God, he does not wish 
to trifle with such delicacies as rainbows and roses, but to utter the 
deep emotions of a broken or confiding heart. Dr. Watts, however, 



62 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



is almost always liable to introduce the images of a superficial im- 
agination into the sublimest productions of his genius. Charles 
Wesley, though keenly alive to everything beautiful in the material 
universe, rose so high in his lyrics as to lose sight of terrestrial 
objects or touched upon them only for a moment to take his flight to 
more glorious themes. Wesley is never sentimental ; he never adorns 
his poems with the fancies and bagatelles of the poetic art ; he never 
fetters the soaring spirit by a burden, however gay and sweet, of 
empyrean stars and the flowers of earth. Watts often begins his 
hymns where the lark closes his morning song — "at heaven's gate" — 
and he then as frequently descends upon some pretty bush or alights 
upon some green and flowery bank to conclude an anthem in the au- 
dience of the beasts and birds which should have closed at the very 
throne of God. Wesley, on the other hand, begins where Watts ter- 
minates his songs, and then rises at once on the pinions of a lofty and 
victorious faith till, like the rapt apostle on the isle of the apocalypse, 
he falls prostrate amidst heavenly splendors too refulgent for mor- 
tal sight. Watts and his school of poets are warmly sensuous, 
praising in reality the works and workmanship of God in the name 
of glorifying God himself. When looking at the life of faith on 
earth, the soft and smooth-flowing Watts would set the soul to 
singing : 

"There is a land of pure delight, 
Where saints immortal reign; 
Eternal day excludes the night, 
And pleasures banish pain. 

There everlasting spring abides, 

And never-withering flowers; 
Death, like a narrow sea, divides 

This heavenly land from ours. 

Sweet fields beyond the swelling flood 

Stand dressed in living green; 
So to the Jews old Canaan stood, 

While Jordan rolled between." 

That is all like Watts and the poets of his school, such as Stennet, 
Steele, Addison, and Opie. 

As a lyric poet Charles Wesley occupies a much more eminent 
position than Dr. Watts. His hymns are not descriptive poems ; nor 
are they weakened by material imagery; nor do they seem to have 
been written simply to be read. They are songs; they are deeply 



THE LYRICS OF METHODISM. 



6 3 



religious songs; they are personal songs; they are the words em- 
ployed by the individual worshiper. They are the words of the soul 
— not when touched by the beautiful forms of nature, but when 
roused by that "beatific vision" spoken of by Milton or lost in the 
blaze of that "realizing light" of faith which the worshiper feels to 
be the substance of his own experience, an emanation from himself. 
In the very first verse of the first hymn in the Methodist collection 
Charles Wesley, personating every true worshiper, gives the keynote 
to Wesleyan hymnology when he exclaims: 

<f O for a thousand tongues to sing 

My great Redeemer's praise, 
The glories of my God and King, 

The triumphs of his grace!" . 
The distinguishing characteristic of Wesley as a lyric poet is the 
same as that of Shakespeare among the dramatic poets. He does 
not describe a character or a passion but enacts it. He throws 
himself into the attitude of the character he wishes to represent, 
feels all that such a character could feel, and then utters the senti- 
ments and experiences in the most fitting language. In keeping with 
this mode of composition, he is successively a lost and wretched sin- 
ner, writhing and quaking under the anguish he carries within ; then 
an awakened penitent, beating his breast like the praying publican ; 
then a newborn believer, trusting to the glimmering light that has 
dawned within him, but trembling lest the light go out and he return 
to the land of darkness ; then a confirmed and grown-up Christian, 
strong in the faith once delivered to the saints and working his way 
to yet loftier attainments; then a miserable backslider, a repenting 
and returning prodigal, a vigorous coworker with God in the vast 
enterprise of saving the world, etc. 

No words or sentiments could be more appropriate for the 
soul in its approach to God than those in 

Come, thou Almighty King, 
Help us thy name to sing, 

Help us to praise ! 
Father all-glorious, 
O'er all victorious, 
Come, and reign over us, 
Ancient of days! 
Or that passionate appeal: 

Draw near, 0 Son of God, draw near! 



64 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



What greater fame does any man crave than to be the 
author of "Jesus, Lover of My Soul"? It is doubtless the 
most popular hymn in the English language and will be 
sung so long as human beings need a Saviour or the power 
of song. 

The Lyrics of Thomas Olivers. 

There is space in this study for only a brief notice of 
Thomas Olivers, one of the most heroic and interesting 
characters of early Methodism. He figured prominently 
in the Calvinistic controversy which divided the leaders 
during the early days. Wesley pronounced him a full match 
for Toplady, and Southey acknowledges his great ability 
as displayed in that controversy. His poetry and music both 
bear testimony to his genius. He produced one of the sub- 
limest lyrics in the hymnology of our language. He was 
one of the noblest trophies of Methodism and an astonish- 
ing demonstration of its power. In one of the issues of 
Wesley's Magazine is an autobiographical sketch marked 
throughout by the individuality of his character. For about 
forty-six years Thomas Olivers belonged to Wesley's itiner- 
ant ranks, doing most valiant and valuable service and en- 
during severe hardships in England, Ireland, and Scotland. 
But while the heroic man was toiling through his humble 
work his grand hymns were being sung in the great 
churches of the nation. Dr. Jackson says that Olivers's 
''Hymn of Praise to Christ" was set to music by a gentle- 
man in Ireland and performed before the Bishop of Water- 
ford in his cathedral on Christmas Day. Belcher in his 
"Historical Sketches of Hymns" says that the celebrated 
Mrs. Carter heard Olivers's hymn, "Lo! he comes with 
clouds descending," sung at St. Paul's Cathedral, in Lon- 
don, as an Advent anthem, and gives it at full length in her 
"Letters." Creamer in his "Hymnology" affirms that there 
is not in the language a hymn which has elicited more praise 



THE LYRICS OF METHODISM. 



65 



than his "God of Abraham." James Montgomery in his 
"Christian Psalmist" says that there is not in all our lan- 
guage a lyric of more majestic style, more elevated thought, 
or more glorious imagery. Blackwood's Magazine pro- 
nounced this hymn one of the noblest odes in the English 
language. 

In addition to the hymns of his already mentioned may 
be given "O thou God of my salvation" and "The God who 
reigns on high." 

Questions. 

1. What was one of the most important products of the Wesleyan 
revival ? 

2. What inspired the songs of Methodism ? 

3. When and where was the first Methodist hymn book issued ? 

4. What is said of John Wesley as a poet ? 

5. Who is Methodism's greatest lyric poet? 

6. What are the chief characteristics of Charles Wesley's hymns? 

7. In what respect is Charles Wesley superior to Isaac Watts ? 

8. What is said of the extent of Charles Wesley's hymn-writing? 

9. What do you consider his greatest hymn ? 

10. What is said of the work of Thomas Olivers? 

Bibliography. 

Tefft's "Methodism Successful." 
Jackson's "Life of Charles Wesley." 
Tillett's "Our Hymns and Their Authors." 
Robertson's "Hymn Studies." • 

Tillett and Nutter's "Hymns and Hymn Writers of the Church." 
5 



CHAPTER V. 
Pulpit Oratory. 



CHAPTER V. 



Pulpit Oratory. 

Methodism has a most remarkable record in the produc- 
tion of pulpit oratory. In fact, its early history was so 
marked by the number of its brilliant pulpit orators as to 
open a new era of popular eloquence. The magic style and 
graceful manners, as well as the extemporaneous method 
of delivery, of the itinerants so captivated the public mind 
that all classes of speakers, excepting those of some of the 
smaller religious bodies, were compelled by pressure of the 
general taste to follow their example. The beautiful diction 
and graceful delivery of Whitefield and Punshon and Moffitt 
and Fisk and Cookman and Bascom and Pierce and Olin and 
Cross and a host of others too numerous to mention set the 
pace in pulpit activity for the age. 

There was John Wesley, whose other powers were so 
brilliant and whose other achievements were so marvelous 
that his eloquence has received little consideration, and yet 
Southey bears distinct and repeated testimony to his ability 
as a public speaker and his fluency of delivery. 

Thomas Walsh was not only a man of scholarly attain- 
ments, but he was an orator of attractive delivery. He was 
surrounded by a number of similar stamp who were distin- 
guished for superiority in this line of achievement. 

Then there was Joseph Benson, whose burning but tem- 
pered eloquence, according to the statements of his con- 
temporaries, was the wonder and delight of his hearers; 
and Richard Watson, characterized by clear statement, close 
argumentation, and luminous illustration, whose discourses 
are still read as among the ablest in the English language. 
Other representatives of the orators of English Methodism 
are Rev. Drs. Newton, Bunton, Dixon, and Arthur. Dr. 

(69) 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



Arthur and Dr. Punshon, the latter of whom has already 
been mentioned, were distinguished for the character of 
their public deliverances, and their appearance was ever an 
assurance of a large assembly. 

Turning to American Methodism, we find a great host 
of men whose oratory elicited the admiration and commenda- 
tion of vast multitudes of entranced listeners. There was 
William McKendree, who, though not widely known to the 
literary and scientific circles, stood at the head of pulpit 
orators of his day. Few men ever filled the pulpit with 
greather dignity and usefulness. To his class belonged Jesse 
Lee, Freeborn Garrettson, and Nathan Bangs, who easily 
eclipsed the leaders in contemporaneous Churches. Follow- 
ing these were John Summerfield, John N. Moffitt, Henry 
Bascom, who were acknowledged models of eloquence. No 
unbiased critic would deny the claim to preeminence of 
Simpson, the impassioned speaker, and Pierce, the silver- 
tongued, and Olin, the Demosthenes of his denomination. 

But this vein of our literary mine is so rich that this 
whole series of studies might be given to its development. 
We shall be compelled, therefore, to content ourselves with 
selecting a few of the nuggets for our purposes. 

George White-field. 

Following is the beautiful tribute to Whitefield by Rev. 
Dr. James Hamilton, of London: 

Whitefield was the prince of English preachers. Many have sur- 
passed him as sermon makers, but none have approached him as a 
pulpit orator. Many have outshone him in the clearness of their 
logic, the grandeur of their conceptions, and the sparkling beauty 
of single sentences; but in the power of darting the gospel direct 
into the conscience he eclipsed them all. With a full and beam- 
ing countenance and the frank and easy port which the English 
people love — for it is the symbol of earnest purpose and friendly 
assurance— he combined a voice of rich compass which could easily 
thrill over Moorefield's in musical thunder or whisper its terrible 
secret in every ear, and to this gainly aspect and tuneful voice he 



PULPIT ORATORY. 



71 



added a most eloquent and expressive action. Improved by conscien- 
tious practice and instinct with his earnest nature, this elocution was 
the acted sermon and by its pantomimic portrait enabled the eye to 
anticipate each rapid utterance and helped the memory to treasure 
up the palatable ideas. None ever used so boldly nor with more suc- 
cess the highest styles of impersonation as when he described to his 
sailor audience a storm at sea and compelled them to shout: "Take 
to the longboat, sir!" His "Hark! hark!" could conjure up Geth- 
semane with its faltering moon and awaken again the cry of horror- 
stricken innocence, and an apostrophe to Peter on. the holy mount 
would light up another Tabor and drown it in glory from the open- 
ing heaven. His thoughts were possessions, and his feelings were 
transformations. And he spoke because he felt; his hearers under- 
stood because they saw. But the glory of Whitefield's preaching 
was its heart-kindling and heart-melting gospel. But for this, all his 
bold strokes and brilliant surprises might have been no better than 
the rhetorical triumphs of Kirwan and other pulpit dramatists. He 
was an orator, but he sought to be only an evangelist. 

The following is a paragraph taken from his sermon on 
"Abraham Offering Up His Son Isaac" : 

And here let us pause awhile and by faith take a view of the 
place where the father has laid him. I doubt not but the blessed 
angels hovered round the altar and sang: "Glory be to God in the 
highest for giving such faith to man." Come, all ye tender-hearted 
parents who know what it is to look over a dying child. Fancy that 
you saw the altar erected before you and the wood laid in order 
and the beloved Isaac bound upon it. Fancy that you saw the aged 
parent standing by weeping. (For why should we not suppose 
that Abraham wept, since Jesus himself wept at the grave of Laz- 
arus?) O what pious, endearing expressions passed now alter- 
nately between the father and the son ! Josephus records a pathetic 
speech made by each, whether genuine I know not; but methinks 
I see the tears trickle down the patriarch Abraham's cheek, and out 
of the abundance of the heart he cries: "Adieu, adieu, my son. 
The Lord gave thee to me, and the Lord calls thee away. Blessed 
be the name of the Lord. Adieu, my Isaac, my only son, whom I 
love as my soul. Adieu, adieu." I see Isaac at the same time 
meekly resigning himself into his Heavenly Father's hands and 
praying to the Most High to strengthen his earthly parent to strike 
the stroke. But why attempt to describe what either father or 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



son felt? It is impossible. We may indeed form some faint idea, 
but we shall never fully comprehend it till we come and sit down 
with them in the kingdom of heaven and hear the pleasing story 
over again. 

This masterly sermon closes with the following impas- 
sioned appeal: 

Learn, O saints, from what has been said, to sit loose to all your 
worldly comforts and stand ready prepared to part with everything 
when God shall require it at thy hand. Some of you may perhaps 
have friends who are to you as your own souls, and others may 
have children in whose lives your own lives are bound up. All, I 
believe, have their Isaacs, their particular delights of some kind or 
other. Labor, for Christ's sake; labor, ye sons and daughters of 
Abraham, to resign them daily in affection to God, that, when he 
shall require you really to sacrifice them, you may not confer with 
flesh and blood any more than the blessed patriarch now before 
us. And as for you that have been in any measure tried like unto 
him, let his example encourage and comfort you. Remember Abra- 
ham, your father, was tried before you. Think, O think of the 
happiness he now enjoys and how he is incessantly thanking God 
for tempting and trying him when here below! Look up often by 
the eye of faith and see him sitting with his dearly beloved Isaac in 
the world of spirits. Remember it will be but a little while and 
you shall sit with them also and tell one another what God has 
done for your souls. There I hope to sit with you and hear this 
story of his offering up his son from his own mouth and to praise 
the Lamb that sitteth upon the throne for what he hath done for 
all our souls forever and ever. 

Stephen Olin. 

History affords no clearer illustration of the fact that 
in God's mighty movements the man and the crisis meet 
than in the case of Stephen Olin. The hour had arrived for 
the inauguration of Christian education in this country under 
Methodistic influences, and to this unique character belongs 
the enviable distinction of launching the enterprise. 

During the latter years of his life Dr. Olin prepared and 
delivered a series of baccalaureate discourses and a series 
of lectures. The writing of the lectures was his closing 



PULPIT ORATORY. 



73 



literary labor and their delivery his final public utterance. 
For pure and chaste language, lofty ideals, and overpower- 
ing reasoning they have no superior. It is passing strange 
that there has not been a new edition of these masterly pro- 
ductions. They constitute a precious legacy to students 
everywhere, in whose welfare he was always deeply inter- 
ested. In them are embodied the mature thought and ripe 
results of experience of one who had thought deeply on 
mental and moral culture. They are the fruit of a quarter 
o£ a century of actual work in college halls, and deserve the 
most careful study by all young men who aspire after the 
highest. 

From his great lecture on "Early Piety the Basis of Ele- 
vated Character" the following excerpt is taken: 

This responsibility for the well-being of the race, which accrues 
to the young in virtue of their providential endowments, is devolved 
upon them by an inevitable destiny. They are the predestined suc- 
cessors of all who now wield moral influence and all who occupy 
positions of authority and power. They are moving incessantly to- 
ward this great inheritance, and the flight of years makes haste to 
bring them into contact with burdens and responsibilities which they 
cannot elude or devolve upon others. Those who are now young 
must govern mankind. They must become the teachers of the race. 
They must become the world's lawgivers and its dispensers of jus- 
tice. They must manage its material affairs, must plan and prosecute 
its improvements and ameliorations, must conduct its wars and 
negotiations, must meet the unseen exigencies of the great future. 
God has provided no other teachers for that coming generation 
which in its turn is to occupy this great field of action and proba- 
tion and to transmit to a still later posterity its character, its virtues, 
its vices, and its achievements. Were we able to divest this great law 
of human existence of its inefficiency as a hackneyed truism and 
clothe it in the freshness and potency of a freshly discovered truth, 
we should need no other argument to impress upon the young the 
duty of diligence and faithfulness in their vocation; for the young, 
though often rash and reckless of the future, are neither selfish nor 
malevolent. They would not trust themselves upon the inheritance 
in reserve for them without qualification to preserve and improve 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



it. They would not bring back upon the world the ignorance of the 
Dark Ages nor reproduce upon the face of civilized society the 
horrible scenes of the Reign of Terror. They would not tarnish the 
luster of our national character by deeds of cowardice, treachery, 
or dishonor. They would not give to the country a race of incom- 
petent or profligate statesmen. They would recoil from the thought 
of occupying the pulpits of this Christian land, the strongholds of 
its morality and stern virtues, without the requisite qualifications of 
intelligence and piety. They would not dwarf and taint the public 
mind with a feeble, polluted literature, nor degrade the schools and 
liberal professions to which this republic looks for the men of the 
future — its orators, its teachers, its guides of the youth, and the 
leaders of its senates. And yet nothing is more certain than that 
these great interests, one and all, look to the present generation of 
young men as their sole hope and resource. Nothing is less a 
matter of doubt than that these potent agencies on which the well- 
being of a great nation depends must speedily come under the direc- 
tion of the young men who are now forming their character, moral 
and intellectual, in our schools and colleges. 

William Elbert Munsey. 

Perhaps no man was ever more entitled to the honor of 
being called self-made than Dr. Munsey. He was born 
amid the mountains of Southwest Virginia, and his boyhood 
days were spent on the farm. He knew by actual experience 
the drudgery of life on a mountain farm. It is said that 
often after a hard day's work he would have to carry the 
wood for evening fires on his shoulder for more than a mile. 
At an early period in life he was seized with a passion for 
knowledge, such as occasionally seizes a youth in the midst 
of the most difficult circumstances. It was his custom while 
plowing in the field to place a book at the end of the furrow 
and upon reaching it to pause a few moments and read, 
and then absorb what he had read while proceeding with 
his work. This eager desire for knowledge increased until 
it became insatiable, and his growing soul panted for larger 
drafts at the fountain of truth. He joined the ministry 
in early manhood, and soon his learning and eloquence 



PULPIT ORATORY. 



75 



began to attract attention. Soon after the close of the 
Civil War he was stationed at Alexandria. Here his min- 
istry was attended by immense congregations. Inspired by 
such crowds, the preacher was stimulated to the highest en- 
deavor. His fame soon spread abroad, and he was in con- 
stant demand for special occasions. A writer who heard 
Dr. Munsey deliver the famous lecture on "Man" in the 
chapel of old Randolph-Macon College thus describes the 
production : 

The vast amount of scientific knowledge he had stored his mind 
with was truly amazing. He spoke as if he had been a professor 
in every branch of science for a lifetime. Every technical term was 
at his tongue's end. Man was presented in spirit, soul, and body as 
the most wonderful trichotomy in the universe; was analyzed, syn- 
thesized, exalted, and glorified as the last and grandest work of 
God. He soared amid clouds as lightning and thunder and tem- 
pests; he was as familiar with anatomy as if he had been a Sir 
Charles Bell, with mental phenomena as if he had been a John 
Locke, with mythology as if he had been born a Greek and had 
lived in Greece a thousand years ago. After getting into his theme, 
he rushed on with the speed of an Arabian courser, scarcely pausing 
to take breath, to the last sentence of his gorgeous peroration. 

In that lecture on "Man," after describing the chain that 
is made of the spiritual and the material, he says : 

Behold the chain ! First, as' a chain of being — its archangelic links, 
its angelic links, its animal links, its vegetable links. Behold the 
chain in its original and unimpaired unity as on the sixth demiurgic 
day completed it dropped in order, symmetry, and light down 
through chaos and darkness, with the eye of God flashing down its 
entire length, kindling every link into beauty and glory. From 
Deity to dust, down, down it descended, and to and fro it swung, 
instinct with harmony, a tuneful chain along which diapasons from 
the softest note in sublime crescendo rose in thundering melodies to 
God. There it hung a thing of beauty, graceful, lovely, sublime, 
magnificent — the expression in the concrete of heaven's ideal, the 
embodiment in charming unity of Heaven's design, the incorporation 
of infinite benevolence, the central link, man and the little cosmos, 
wondrously compounded, in the meanwhile holding in lawful wed- 



y6 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 

lock the spiritual and material, heaven and earth, God and rocks, 
together. There it hung, its highest link eclipsed and invisible in the 
splendor of the infinite glory, waning yet dazzling down to man, the 
subcentral and lower links scintillant and bright with the milder 
light of a created glory, declining softly to its lowest links, where 
worlds and stars hung appendant in twilight yet golden beauty — its 
highest link bathed in the splendors of noon, its lowest links slept 
in the lap of mellow evening. 

George Foster Pierce. 

Speaking of Bishop Pierce, General Toombs said: "He 
was the most symmetrical man I have ever known, the 
handsomest in person, the most gifted in intellect, and the 
purest in life." 

Judge L. Q. C. Lamar said of him that of all the great 
Georgians he considered Bishop Pierce the first. 

Governor Colquitt, who sat under his ministry in his 
youth, who entertained him, who served with him on boards 
of trustees, and who had abundant opportunity to know the 
Bishop fully, said that no man had ever done so much to 
mold the character of the Georgia people or so much to 
direct them in right paths. 

Dr. Pierce headed the Georgia delegation to the General 
Conference which met in New York in 1844. While in that 
city the American Bible Society held its annual meeting, 
and he was invited to be one of the speakers. In writing of 
the address Rev. William Martin says : "I heard him in 1844 
before the American Bible Society when Lord Ketchum, 
Frelinghuysen, and other distinguished men of the nation 
were the speakers, and from every indication, intense atten- 
tion, frequent, loud, and long-continued applause, together 
with the many enthusiastic expressions I heard, the young 
Georgia Methodist preacher surpassed them all." 

Perhaps no better illustration of the finished orator's style 
could be presented than the following excerpt from that 
famous address : 



PULPIT ORATORY. 



77 



It is the sin of the nations and the curse of the Church that we 
have never properly appreciated the Bible. It is the Book of books 
for the priest and the people, for the old and for the young. It 
should be the tenant of the academy and of the nursery, and ought 
to be incorporated in our course of education, from the mother's 
knee to graduation in the highest universities in the land. Every- 
thing is destined to fail unless the Bible is the fulcrum on which 
these laws revolve. Can such a book be read without an influence 
commensurate with its importance ? As well might the flowers sleep 
when the spring winds its mellow horn to call them from their bed ; 
as well might the mist linger upon the bosom of the lake when the 
sun beckons it to leave its dewy home. The Bible plants our feet 
amid that angel group which stood with eager wing expectant when 
the Spirit of God first hovered over the abyss of chaos and wraps 
us in praise for the newborn world when the morning stars sang 
together for joy. The Bible built for us the world when we were 
not, stretches our conception of the infinite beyond the last orbit of 
astronomy, pacifies the moral discord of earth, reorganizes the dust 
of the sepulcher, and tells man that heaven is his home and eternity 
his Bible. . . . The Bible, sir, is the guide of the erring and the 
reclaimer of the wandering. It heals the sick, consoles the dying, 
and purifies the living. If you would propagate Protestantism, cir- 
culate the Bible. Let the master give it to the pupil, the professor 
to his class, the father to his son, the mother to her daughter ; place 
it in every home in the land. Then shall the love of God cover the 
earth and the light of salvation overlay the land as the sunbeams of 
the morning lie upon the mountains. 

Joseph Cross. 

In 1858 Mr. William T. Smithson enterprised and pub- 
lished "The Methodist Pulpit, South," a volume of which 
lies before the writer. In it are published specimens of ser- 
mons by distinguished Southern preachers, and for genuine 
pulpit oratory the collection has no superior. It might fit- 
tingly be placed in a "Library of the World's Best Orations." 

One of these specimens is from Dr. Joseph Cross on 
"Labor and Rest." His text is: "For David, after he had 
served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep." 
A reading of the sermon in full is necessary to a proper ap- 



78 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



preciation of it, but the concluding paragraph, which is here 
given, will suffice to illustrate the style : 

Finally, my brethren, remember that in serving your own gener- 
ation you serve also the generations to come. The seed sown in the 
present will bloom and bear fruit in the future and propagate itself 
in successive harvests forever. Your influence will outlive you, 
your work will remain when you are gone, and the good you shall 
have done will flourish over your tombs. David "served his own 
generation by the will of God" in the character of poet as well as 
of prophet and king; and this day a thousand temples are ringing 
with the voice of his psalmody and millions of worshipers are melt- 
ing to the strains of his penitence, and, soaring on the wings of his 
piety and through the coming centuries, the saints shall still make 
these sacred compositions their songs in the house of their pil- 
grimage, and "the harp the monarch minstrel swept" shall still 
soothe the troubled soul and heal the broken heart and breathe its 
angel melodies over the bed of death and around the tomb of the 
departed, and "the sacramental hosts of God's elect" shall march 
to its music in the battle for the faith, and its living numbers shall 
modulate the movement of the resurrection anthem! Like David 
may you labor ! With David may you rest ! 

Questions. 

r. What effect had the preaching of the early itinerants upon 
pulpit oratory? 

2. Who were among the leaders in this respect among the English ? 

3. Who were among the American leaders ? 

4. Who was the most eminent orator of early Methodism? 

5. What were some of the traits of Stephen Olin? 

6. What distinct work did Olin achieve? 

7. How would Munsey be received in the modern Church? 

8. How would you rank Bishop Pierce ? 

9. What constituted the attractiveness of Dr. Joseph Cross ? 

10. Does the public taste for oratory vary with different ages ? 

Bibliography. 
Gillies's "Memoirs of Whitefield." 
"Life and Letters of Stephen Olin." 
Olin's "Lectures." 
Munsey's "Sermons." 
Pierce's "Sermons and Addresses." 
Cross's "Sermons." 



CHAPTER VI. 
Biblical Literature. 



CHAPTER VI. 



Biblical Literature. 

From the very first, Methodism has put great emphasis 
upon the study of the Holy Scriptures. It will be -recalled 
that Mr. Wesley was converted while listening to the read- 
ing of Luther's comments on the Epistle to the Romans. 
The "Holy Club/' the nucleus of the coming Church, em- 
ployed part of its time in the study of the Greek Testament. 
The early Methodist preachers were close students of the 
Word of God ; but as their supreme business was the procla- 
mation of the truth to the multitudes, many of them who 
were abundantly able to write books about the Bible had not 
the time for that work. But any one who has never ex- 
amined into the situation will be amazed at the enormous 
amount as well as the great value of the works in Biblical 
literature produced by even the early itinerants. 

The Bible is many-sided, and these zealous messengers 
whose highest ideal it was to preach the truth of God 
studied it until they became masters of its revelations and 
disclosures. The Bible is not only a book; it is a whole 
library within itself. In it all forms of literature are il- 
lustrated. Here we have history so accurately recorded 
that every new discovery of the excavator's spade corrob- 
orates its authenticity. Here we have the most charming 
biography in all the world, and in it we hold converse with 
the choice spirits of the race. Here we have the sublimest 
poetry ever produced. Here the great problems of philoso- 
phy are settled once and forever. And Biblical ethics have 
set the standard for all subsequent treatment. 

John Wesley. 

Though much attention has been given to Mr. Wesley 
in previous studies, it is but fitting that his expository writ- 
es (81) 



82 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



iugs be briefly noticed in this. He knew that in order to 
perpetuate the influence of the gracious revival that was 
then sweeping over the land it would be necessary to educate 
the people in the truths of the Bible. People can grow in 
grace only as they grow in knowledge. Religious fervor is 
evanescent unless fed by intelligent conviction. As in all 
his writings, the nature and limits of the Biblical writings 
of Mr. Wesley were determined by the needs of the people 
and the opportunities afforded for work. He said that his 
purpose was barely to assist those who fear God in hearing 
and reading the Bible itself, by showing the natural sense 
of every part in as few and as plain words as he could. 
"I have endeavored to make the 'Notes' as short as possible, 
that the comment may not obscure or swallow up the text." 
He wrote with educational and religious design, for he was 
conscious of the fact that there were many who were not 
only unable to buy extensive and expensive commentaries, 
but were not able to understand them were they able to 
procure the books. As already stated, his "Revised New 
Testament," which he made and used as a basis for his 
"Notes," anticipated every important change made by the 
modern revisers. Using this as the foundation, he then 
wrote the "Notes on the New Testament," upon the whole 
the most satisfactory one-volume commentary on the New 
Testament now in existence. 

His "Notes on the Old Testament" were mainly an abridg- 
ment of Matthew Henry's "Commentary" and Poole's "An- 
notations." This latter work, being less original, never 
reached that degree of popularity attained by the one on 
the New Testament, which reached its fifth edition during 
his lifetime. His masterpiece in expository literature — 
"Notes on the New Testament" — was begun at an age when 
his powers were in their maturity, January, 1754. His 
health had been impaired by overwork, and he was ordered 
to the Hotwells, Clifton, for rest and recuperation. There 



BIBLICAL LITERATURE. 



83 



he began this work, which he says he never would have at- 
tempted had he not been unable to travel and preach but not 
too unwell to read and write. Entries in his Journal show 
how assiduously and painfully he toiled to elicit and express 
the truth of God as embodied in the Word. 

'Adam Clarke. 

Adam Clarke was perhaps the most erudite man of his 
age. He was more or less familiar with every branch of 
learning. He became skilled in the Greek, Latin, Hebrew, 
Samaritan, Chaldaic, Syriac, Arabic, Persian, and Coptic 
languages as well as those in Western Europe. His great 
abilities and achievements were duly recognized by member- 
ship in the London, Asiatic, Geological, and other learned so- 
cieties of his age. The enduring monument of his in- 
dustry, learning, and piety is found in his "Commentary on 
the Holy Scriptures," which "has spread its banquet of wis- 
dom and love in untold Christian homes on two continents 
and is found in the libraries of ministers and laymen of all 
denominations." This masterly work was a leader in the 
critical study of the Bible, and as such had no successor in 
English until the appearance of the "International Critical 
Commentary," now being issued. In the production of this 
work Dr. Clarke seems to have explored almost every field 
of learning and lore and to have made every discovery tribu- 
tary to his purpose. 

The learned author's treatment of the Scripture is critical, 
exhaustive, and practical. Take as an illustration his treat- 
ment of the first Psalm. After a brief introduction, we have 
three pages of notes or comments and at the close an analysis 
which for comprehensiveness and brevity at the same time 
has not been surpassed. Here is the analysis : 

What May Make a Happy Man? 
I. This question the prophet resolves in the first two verses : 
1. Negatively. It is he (1) "that walks not in the counsel of the 



84 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 

ungodly"; (2) "that stands not in the way of sinners"; (3) "that 
sits not in the seat of the scornful." 

2. Positively. It is he (1) "whose delight is in the law of the 
Lord"; (2) "who doth meditate day and night in the law." 

II. This happiness of the good man is illustrated in two ways : 
(1) By a similitude; (2) by comparing him with a wicked man. 

1. The similitude he makes choice of is that of a tree. It hath 
these eminences: (1) It is planted; it grows not of itself; neither 
is it wild. (2) Planted by the rivers of water, it wants no moisture 
to fructify it. (3) It doth fructify; it brings forth fruit. (4) Its 
fruit is seasonable. (5) It is always green. 

2. He shows this good man's happiness by comparing him with a 
wicked man. 

III. He shows the cause why the godly are happy, the wicked 
unhappy : 

1. Because the way of the righteous is known to the Lord. 

2. But the way, studies, plots, and counsels of the wicked shall 
perish. 

Thomas Coke. 

We are accustomed to look upon Dr. Coke as a missionary 
rather than a writer. Methodism was missionary from its 
birth. A creed that holds universal atonement and the pos- 
sibility of salvation for every man is inherently obligated to 
offer it to all men. Believing that all men need the gospel 
and that the gospel is adapted to all men, the only reason- 
able conclusion is that it is incumbent upon us to give it to 
all. William Carey (peace to his ashes and honor to his 
name!) is usually called the founder of modern missions. 
But the facts undoubtedly justify the claim of Dr. Coke to 
this honor. It was in October, 1792, that Carey preached his 
famous sermon and issued his effective pamphlet. The ser- 
mon and pamphlet led to the organization of the Baptist 
Missionary Society. In January, 1784, Dr. Coke organized 
a missionary society among the Wesleyans and published 
"A Plan of the Society for the Establishment of Missions 
among the Heathen." This was eight years before the Bap- 
tist Missionary Society was organized. 



BIBLICAL LITERATURE. 



85 



He was perhaps the most benevolent man of his time, 
Wesley alone being excepted. He gave not only his person 
and time and talents, but his immense fortune as well, to the 
propagation of the Methodist reformation. His writings fur- 
nish sufficient evidence of the fact that he would have been 
classed among the literati of his time had his powers been 
devoted to that field of endeavor. His style is plain and un- 
ambitious, but often elegant, strong, and dignified. While it 
is apparent to all that the man who crossed the Atlantic 
Ocean eighteen times in the prosecution of his missionary 
activities and who had entire charge of the Wesleyan Mis- 
sions at their most critical time could not have much leisure 
for literary work, yet in spite of this he became quite a 
voluminous writer. In conjunction with Mr. Moore, he 
wrote a "Life of Wesley" which soon took rank with the 
best memoirs of that remarkable man. His history of the 
West Indies is the work which perhaps gave him more lit- 
erary prominence than any other output of his pen. It was 
a work of three volumes, containing the natural, civil, and 
ecclesiastical history of each island from the beginning of 
European settlement. In writing it he displayed great 
natural ability, wide research, and polished art. 

But that product of his pen of most interest here is his 
"Commentary on the Holy Scriptures." It was begun at 
the request of his denomination and is one of the land- 
marks of the age. It is characterized by keen insight, deep 
spirituality, and refined taste. From some cause or other 
its real merits were never fully appreciated, hence it has 
never been classed among our most popular books on the 
Bible. 

Joseph Benson. 
One of the most distinguished names in the annals of 
Methodism is that of Joseph Benson. He was born in Cum- 
berland in 1749. Even in childhood his manner of life 
showed deep seriousness, great intelligence, and diligence 



86 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 

in study, and he soon acquired proficiency in the Greek and 
Latin languages and in theology. While under ten years 
of age he formed the habit of secret prayer, and he dates 
his conversion in his sixteenth year. Becoming acquainted 
with Wesley's itinerants who visited his town, he became in- 
fatuated with their fervor and consecration, and he soon 
became persuaded that Methodism would afford him the 
greatest opportunity for usefulness. He proceeded to con- 
sult Mr. Wesley and decided to join in the new and mighty 
movement conducted by the itinerants. He was received 
into the Conference in 1771, and for fifty years thereafter 
occupied the most important posts of English Methodism. 
He was twice President of the Conference and from 1803 
till his death, in 1821, he was editor of the Methodist Maga- 
zine. His writings contributed incalculably to that stability 
of theology and growth of intelligence which have charac- 
terized the connection. He was noted for his intimate and 
accurate knowledge of the Greek New Testament, the sound- 
ness and breadth of his theological knowledge, his quiet 
dignity, the wisdom of his counsels, and the eloquence of 
his preaching. But for present purposes his "Biblical Com- 
mentary" is of supreme importance. It soon became a 
favorite among the Wesleyan preachers, and for the devo- 
tional study of the Bible is not surpassed even by Matthew 
Henry's famous work. Home, in his "Introduction to the 
Critical Study of the Holy Scriptures," speaks in high terms 
of Benson's "Commentary." It was based largely on Poole's 
"Annotations." 

Daniel Denison Whedon. 

Dr. Whedon was one of the most eminent preachers of 
American Methodism. He was born at Onondaga, N. Y., 
March 20, 1808. He graduated from Hamilton College in 
1828, studied law in Rochester for a year, then became 
teacher in Cazenovia Seminary, became tutor in his Alma 



BIBLICAL LITERATURE. 



8/ 



Mater in 1831, and in 1833 was made professor of languages 
in Wesleyan University. In 1834 he joined the New York 
Conference, where. he served till 1842, when he was trans- 
ferred to the Troy Conference. In 1845 ne was made pro- 
fessor of rhetoric in the University of Michigan. In 1856 
he became editor of the Methodist Quarterly Review, a posi- 
tion which he retained until 1884. He died at Atlantic High- 
lands, N. J., June 8, 1885. 

Dr. Whedon was noted for his vigorous and incisive style 
both as preacher and writer, and was overwhelmingly power- 
ful in controversy. His "Commentary," consisting of five 
large volumes, illustrates all the characteristics of its able 
author. The original work, containing these five volumes, 
covers only the New Testament and is specially adapted 
for popular use. His plan projected, but executed only on 
the New Testament by himself, has been extended to cover 
the Old Testament, the volumes being prepared by various 
authors. The list on the Old Testament is as follows : Vol. 
I., "Genesis and Exodus," Milton S. Terry and Fales H. 
Newhall. Vol. II., "Leviticus and Numbers," Daniel Steele ; 
"Deuteronomy," John W. Lindsey. Vol. III., "Book of 
Joshua," Daniel Steele; "Judges to 2 Samuel," Milton S. 
Terry. Vol. IV., "Kings to Esther," Milton S. Terry. Vol. 
V., "Psalms," F. G. Hibbard. Vol. VI, "Job," J. K. Burr ; 
"Proverbs," W. Hunter ; "Ecclesiastes," A. B. Hyde. Vol. 
VII, "Isaiah," Henry Bannister; "Jeremiah and Lamenta- 
tions," F. D. Hemenway. Vol. VIII, "Ezekiel and Daniel," 
Camden N. Cobern. Vol. IX, "Minor Prophets," F. C. 
Eiselen. 

H. G. Mitchell. 

Dr. Mitchell's most noteworthy contributions to Biblical 
literature are "The World before Abraham," "Amos: An 
Essay in Exegesis," and "Genesis" in the series known as 
"The Bible for Home and School." The following from the 



88 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



Introduction to "The World before Abraham" will suffice 
to give some idea of the purpose of the book : 

In a recent issue of a popular religious weekly appeared the 
following: "Kindly give the name of some book on Genesis which 
treats it from the viewpoint of modern scholarship." 

This item indicates a demand for commentaries on Genesis writ- 
ten in the light of the most recent researches into its age and struc- 
ture. The demand is really widespread, as any one in my position 
can testify; but thus far but little has been done either in England 
or America to meet it. The editor to whom the above appeal was 
made therefore recommended a translation of Dillman's work, which, 
though very valuable to those who are prepared to appreciate it, 
is too large, too learned, and too expensive for most students of 
the Bible. This state of things ought not to continue. A desire to 
do what I can to remedy it is my excuse for putting into print the 
following pages. 

The first part of my book is devoted to the Pentateuchal question, 
which I have tried to discuss with perfect candor and settle for 
myself as well as my reader in accordance with the evidence in the 
case. In the comments of the second part my object has been 
simply to interpret the text of the first eleven chapters of Genesis 
in the light of the theory adopted. The ideas thus presented are 
therefore not mine, but those which in a given case the author 
seemed to me to have intended to convey. If I have missed his 
meaning, I will cheerfully acknowledge my error and make any 
necessary corrections. 

There are doubtless those who at first will feel that some of my 
results threaten their faith in the Scriptures. I can assure them 
that their anxiety is groundless, as they will discover if they will 
consider: (i) That the essential element in these chapters is not 
the things narrated, but, as I have more than once elsewhere inti- 
mated, the religious ideas underlying them; and (2) that these 
ideas derive much of their importance to us from the fact that they 
represent stages more or less remote in the process by which God 
prepared his people, and through them the world, for the supreme 
revelation of himself in the life and work of Jesus Christ. 

In his Introduction the learned author discusses such 
topics as "Names and Divisions" of the Pentateuch, "Tradi- 
tional Authorship," "Structure and Composition," "Age of 
Documents," and "Order of Compilation." Following this 



BIBLICAL LITERATURE. 



89 



is an interesting analysis of the book of Genesis. The com- 
ments are pointed and, as the author states, in keeping with 
the position assumed in the Introduction. 

Gross Alexander. 

At this point the writer is embarrassed. This embarrass- 
ment arises from two causes— Dr. Alexander is still living, 
and he is very near to us. But the character of his work 
is such that common justice demands that it receive con- 
sideration. He is, beyond all question, our greatest living 
exegete and expositor. The work to which special atten- 
tion is called in this study is "The Epistles to the Colossians 
and Ephesians." It is a brief commentary on the two Paul- 
ine Epistles and is a volume in the series known as "The 
Bible for Home and. School," which is being issued under 
the general editorship of Shailer Mathews and which bids 
fair to be a most valuable contribution to the study of the 
Bible. 

After a brief introduction to Colossians, in which Dr. 
Alexander discusses "The Colossian Church," "The Occa- 
sion of the Epistle," "Authorship and Date," and gives an 
analysis and suggested bibliography, he proceeds to present 
in admirable comments the meaning of the letter. In a 
similar way he treats the Epistle to the Ephesians. The 
commentary on Ephesians is in many respects superior to 
Candlish's work on the same Epistle, which forms one of the 
series known as "Handbooks for Bible Classes" issued by 
T. & T. Clark, Edinburgh. Dr. Alexander's book deserves 
a wide circulation and will doubtless receive its just deserts. 

Miscellaneous. 

The purpose and limitations of this study preclude minute 
examination into this field of Methodist literature, and a 
partial list of the great number must suffice. 

Hibbard's "Palestine" was a leader and in some respects 



90 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



remains unsurpassed, and his "Psalms Chronologically Ar- 
ranged, with Historical Introductions," reached a wide circu- 
lation and attained a considerable reputation both in Eng- 
land and America. James Strong's "Harmony and Exposi- 
tion of the Gospels'" evinces patient research and extended 
scholarship, not only in the original languages of the Bible, 
but in the whole field of Scriptural literature. Osbon's 
"Daniel Verified in History" afforded ample proof of the 
scholarship of the author. Cruden's "Concordance" was 
for many years the standard work of its kind. In his "Chro- 
nology" Rev. Dr. Peter Akers, whilom President of Hamline 
University, shows exhaustive and comprehensive work. His 
extensive learning and critical research are apparent, what- 
ever the reader may think of his conclusions. He gives 
evidence of research in all the works on chronology and into 
all the methods of recording time, from Egyptian and Orien- 
tal writers to the Olympiads and Urbs Condita of the Greeks 
and Romans. His work was not inferior to that of Ussher 
or Hales or Ideler. 

Strickland's "Manual of Biblical Literature," Strong's 
"Compendium of the Gospels," Buck's "Harmony of the 
Gospels." Larrabee's "Scientific Evidences of Christianity," 
Crum's "Lectures on the Beatitudes." Summers's "Biblical 
Atlas and the Scripture Gazetteer" must be noted. Among 
the more recent writers in this field there are three who must 
receive some further notice than mere announcement of their 
productions. 

A study of Methodist Biblical literature, however brief, 
would be incomplete without some reference to Richard 
Watson's "Dictionary of the Bible." Fuller notice of his 
works will be given in another one of these studies, but ref- 
erence to his dictionary properly belongs here. The book 
is remarkable for the amount and accuracy of the informa- 
tion it contains, for its exhaustive treatment of subjects, 
together with unexampled condensation. The work was a 



BIBLICAL LITERATURE. 



91 



leader in its field and at one time had a wide circulation. 
His "Expositions of Matthew and Mark" is a work of con- 
siderable merit, and it also at one time was in high repute. 

A work of recent issue and one of exceptional value is 
"The Bible in the World's Education," by Warren. It con- 
tains a series of lectures delivered at the University of Den- 
ver on "The Wycliffe Foundation." 

"Christ's Table Talk," by Bishop Hendrix, should not be 
omitted. The author's high attainments in scholarship and 
spiritual insight are well sustained in this book. 

Another valuable book of recent years is Bishop Keener's 
"Studies in Truth." 

Questions. 

1. What has ever been Methodism's supreme book? 

2. What of the many-sided character of the Bible? 

3. What pioneer work in Bible study did Wesley do? 

4. What is said of Adam Clarke? 

5. How does he analyze the first Psalm? 

6. What was Dr. Coke's distinct contribution to this department 
of our literature? 

7. What great service did Joseph Benson render ? 

8. What is the special feature of his "Commentary" ? 

9. For what was Daniel Whedon noted ? 

10. What two modern writers of note are in this department ? 

Bibliography. 

Wesley's "Notes on the New Testament." 

Clarke's "Commentary." 

Coke's "Commentary." 

Benson's "Commentary." 

Whedon's "Commentary." 

Mitchell's "The World before Abraham." 

Alexander's "Epistles to the Colossians and Ephesians." 

See also "Miscellaneous," in this chapter. 



CHAPTER VII. 
Theological Literature. 



CHAPTER VII. 



Theological Literature. 

The crowning glory of Methodism is its sublime theology. 
There is in some quarters a sickly sentimentalism against 
creeds. But any man who thinks must have a creed. A 
Church without a creed is like a man without a skeleton, and 
a creed without a Church is like a skeleton without a man. 

Methodism holds as fundamental the universality of sin 
and the universality of the atonement. It has ever moved 
through the world proclaiming to every man a free and full 
salvation. It holds the freedom of the human will; that a 
measure of the Holy Spirit's influence is given to every man, 
so that if he is lost it is not because Christ has not died for 
him, but because he will not accept. It teaches, furthermore, 
that salvation is by faith, that the state of grace is witnessed 
to by the Spirit, and that a state of perfection in love is a 
possible attainment in this life. We can easily see how a 
system of truth so simple and yet so all-comprehensive and 
so thoroughly Scriptural would sooner or later win its way 
in the religious world. Hence every vital change made in 
the creeds of Christendom since the appearance of Meth- 
odism has been in the direction of Arminian theology. An 
old-time Methodist's sarcastic representation of the theology 
current in his day runs as follows: "Religion — if you seek 
it, you won't find it ; if you find it, you won't know it ; if you 
know it, you haven't got it; if you get it, you can't lose it; 
if you lose it, you never had it." Methodism reversed this 
and said: "Religion — if you seek it, you will find it; if you 
find it, you will know it; if you know it, you have got it; 
if you get it, you may lose it ; if you lose it, you must have 
had it." 

The power of our theology lies in the fact that it is the 

(95) 



gS STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



product of experience. It grew out of the divine dealings 
with the founders and leaders. The soil in which it germi- 
nated was the enriched consciousness and clarified vision of 
the men whose spiritual lives were under the direct influence 
of the Spirit of God. 

Spirituality may be defined as the consciousness of the 
Divine Presence in the soul. The spiritual man is he who is 
filled with a sense of the presence of God and of the force 
of spiritual laws here and now, convinced of an immediate 
and conscious relation between himself and God. Mr. Wes- 
ley in his experience passed from a traditional belief in a 
mediate relationship with God, which was furnished mainly 
by the Church, to this living faith in the immediate rela- 
tionship between the soul and its God; and his experience, 
which became for him a personal one, became also for him 
a universal doctrine. He believed that this experience was 
possible to the consciousness of all men, inasmuch as in all 
men there is a spiritual potentiality. Hence he felt it his 
duty as well as the duty of every believer to arouse men to 
this spiritual capacity and to personal and loyal acceptance 
of the truth. He believed that such an experience was not 
confined to the elect, as was held by the Calvinists ; nor to the 
cultured, as held by the High Church people; nor to the 
morally cultured, as held by the Puritans. The story of 
early Methodism at least is the story of an earnest and per- 
sistent effort to prevail upon men of all classes to avail them- 
selves of this glorious inheritance. 

The Doctrinal Standards of Methodism are as follows : 

1. The Twenty-Five Articles of Religion. 

2. Wesley's "Notes on the New Testament." 

3. Wesley's "Fifty-Three Sermons." 

It is greatly to our discredit that we have no authorized 
statement or confession of the creed of universal Methodism. 
Here is a concise statement of the main tenets of our 



THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE. 



97 



theology from the pen of George J. Stevenson, of London, 
taken from McClintock and Strong's Cyclopedia : 

1. That there is one God who is infinitely perfect, the Creator, 
Preserver, and Ruler of all things. 

2. That the Scriptures of the Old and the New Testaments' are 
given by divine inspiration and form a complete rule of faith and 
practice. 

3. That three Persons exist in the Godhead : the Father, the Son, 
and the Holy Spirit, undivided in essence and coequal in power and 
glory. 

4. That in the person of Jesus Christ the divine and the human 
natures are united, so that he is truly and properly God and truly 
and properly man. 

5. That Jesus Christ has become the propitiation for the sins of 
the whole world, that he rose from the dead, and that he ever liveth 
to make intercession for us. 

6. That man was created in righteousness and true holiness, but 
that by his disobedience Adam lost the purity and happiness of his 
nature, and in consequence all his posterity are involved in depravity 
and guilt. 

7. That repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ 
are necessary to salvation. 

8. That justification is by grace through faith, that he that be- 
lieveth hath the witness in himself, and that it is our privilege to 
be fully sanctified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the 
Spirit of our God. 

9. That man's salvation is of God and that if he is cast into hell 
it is of himself ; that men are treated by God as rational, account- 
able creatures; that it is God that worketh in us to will and to do 
his own good pleasure ; that we are to work out our salvation with 
fear and trembling; and that it is possible for man to fall finally 
from grace. 

10. That the soul is immortal and that after death it immediately 
enters into a state of happiness or misery. 

11. That the observance of the Christian Sabbath is of perpetual 
obligation. 

12. That the two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper, are 
institutions of perpetual obligation. 

The late Dr. W. P. Harrison, Book Editor of the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, South, summarized the essential 
7 



98 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



doctrines of Methodism in seven short paragraphs. These 
of course do not include all the doctrines of our Church, 
but only the distinctive features which clearly define our 
status in the Christian world. They are in substance the 
body of divinity presented by the Remonstrants to the Synod 
of Dort in i6ig, known as the "Five Points of Arminian- 
ism," to which the Contra-Remonstrants made reply in the 
seven points embodying the essentials of Calvinism. Dr. 
Harrison's summary is as follows : 

1. The universality and impartiality of God's grace to man, as 
manifested in the atonement. 

2. The freedom of the will and personal responsibility to God. 

3. The absolute necessity of holiness in heart and life. 

4. The impossibility of man's restoration to the divine favor and 
to a perfect life by his own power. 

5. The perfect provision for every man's necessities in the plan of 
salvation. 

6. The sole condition of entrance into this new life is faith. 

7. The conscious witness of the Spirit to adoption into the family 
of the Divine Father. 

Bishop Vincent, of the Methodist Episcopal Church, thus 
states the main elements of the creed of Methodism : 

1. I believe that all men are sinners. 

2. I believe that God the Father loves all men and hates all sin. 

3. I believe that Jesus Christ died for all men to make possible 
their salvation from sin and to make sure the salvation of all who 
believe in him. 

4. I believe that the Holy Spirit is given to all men to enlighten 
and to incline them to repent of their sins and to believe in the Lord 
Jesus. 

5. I believe that all who repent of their sins and believe in the 
Lord Jesus Christ receive the forgiveness of their sins. (This is 
justification.) 

6. I believe that all who receive the forgiveness of sin are at the 
same time made new creatures in Christ Jesus. (This is regener- 
ation.) 

7. I believe that all who are made new creatures in Jesus Christ 
are accepted as children of God. (This is adoption.) 



THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE. 



99 



8. I believe that all who are accepted as children of God may 
receive the inward assurance of that fact. (This is the witness of 
the Spirit.) 

9. I believe that all who truly desire and seek it may love God 
with all their heart and soul, mind and strength, and their neighbors 
as themselves. (This is entire sanctification.) 

10. I believe that all who persevere to the end, and only those, 
shall be saved in heaven forever. (This is eternal perseverance.) 

Methodism has produced many great theologians, but the 
space at our command will permit the study of but a select 
few. 

Richard Watson. 

The first great theologian in the history of our Church 
was Richard Watson. Next to Adam Clarke, perhaps, is the 
memory of this man cherished by universal Methodism. His 
talents were of the highest order; and his literary attain- 
ments, largely the result of his own endeavor, rendered him 
equal to almost any enterprise in that realm. In all his 
works he displayed the marks of a scholar, a theologian, and 
a philosopher. In his breadth of view he has been likened 
to Bacon, and in his reasoning power he has been classed 
with Locke. Stevenson says : "Watson's character was one 
of great beauty. His humility and piety never shone brighter 
than at the time of his greatest popularity; and sympathy, 
tenderness, and strength blended in a spirit purified by fire. 
How many felt the power of his presence !" 

He is said to have been a man of elegant taste, of a re- 
markably tenacious memory, great vigor of intellect, and 
unconquerable application. He was at home in theology, 
metaphysics, politics, and political economy. As a preacher 
he ranked with the best the age produced. A writer in the 
Wesleyan Methodist Magazine, in speaking of his preaching, 
said: "He soared into regions of thought where no genius 
but his own can penetrate. He led his hearers into regions 
of thought of which they had previously no conception ; and 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



his tall and graceful form, his pallid countenance, bearing 
marks of deep thought and severe pain, and at the same 
time beaming with benignity and holy delight, served to 
deepen the impression of his incomparable discourses. The 
greatest charm in his preaching was its richness of evangeli- 
cal truth and devotional feeling, and in those qualities it in- 
creased to the last." 

It is to Watson that we owe the first systematic treat- 
ment of Wesleyan theology. His "Institutes," though not 
the legal standard of Methodist theology, has ever been re- 
garded as the scientific and moral standard of our belief. 
The elder Hodge, in his great work, speaks of the "Insti- 
tutes" as "excellent and well worthy of its high repute among 
Methodists." 

In 1852 Dr. John Brown, of Edinburgh, characterized 
Watson as "a prince in theology" and the "Institutes" as 
"the noblest work in Methodism and truly valuable." 

Watson's premature death was a source of universal re- 
gret, but his influence has been an abiding one and his 
memory a cherished one. His book, the "Institutes," is so 
large in size and comprehensive in treatment that it has 
never been in popular demand among the people at large. 
There should be a revised and condensed edition of it for 
general use, for every Methodist should be conversant with 
its contents : 

Here is the author's advertisement : 

The object of this work is to exhibit the evidences, doctrines, 
morals, and institutes of Christianity in a form adapted to the use 
of young ministers and students of divinity. It is hoped also that it 
may supply the desideratum of a body of divinity adapted to the 
present state of theological literature, neither Calvinistic on the one 
hand nor Pelagian on the other. 

The reader will perceive that the object has been to follow a 
course of plain and close argument on the various subjects discussed, 
without any attempt at embellishment of style and without adding 
practical uses and reflections, which, however important, did not 



THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE. 



101 



fall within the plan of this publication. The various controversies 
on fundamental and important points have been introduced; but it 
has been the sincere aim of the author to discuss every subject with 
fairness and candor and honestly, but in the spirit of "the truth," 
which he more anxiously wishes to be taught than to teach, to ex- 
hibit what he believes to be the meaning of the Holy Scriptures, to 
whose authority, he trusts, he has unreservedly subjected all his 
opinions. 

The book consists of four parts, as follows: I. "Evidences 
of the Divine Authority of the Holy Scriptures." 2. "Doc- 
trines of the Holy Scriptures." 3. "The Morals of Chris- 
tianity." 4. "The Institutions of Christianity." 

William Burt Pope. 

Here we meet one of the choice products of Methodism. 
Dr. Fitchett says : "Methodism has produced two great theo- 
ligians : Richard Watson and William Burt Pope. In many 
respects they are utterly unlike each other. Watson is in- 
ferior to Pope in scholarship and literary gifts. He knew 
little, for example, of the relation of human creeds to each 
other. The science of comparative theology was not yet 
born when Watson wrote. Yet what sensible Methodist 
would not be willing to have the creed of his Church judged 
by Watson's fine and luminous definitions? Pope, on the 
other hand, had the garnered knowledge of a great scholar 
with a strain of philosophical genius added, rare amongst 
theologians, and he keeps always in clear vision what may 
be called the interrelations of human belief. But both 
writers have the characteristic note of Methodism : its wise 
sobriety, its intense evangelicalism, which yet shuns the 
characteristic perils of evangelicalism. It is a theology 
which links doctrine to conduct. It abhors fanaticism. It 
has the salt of reality. Here are doctrines realized in hu- 
man experience and tested by that experience." 

Dr. Pope was for many years theological tutor in Dids- 
bury College, where he had abundant opportunity to exercise 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



his marvelous gifts and to cultivate his special talent. His 
great work, "A Compendium of Christian Theology," con- 
sisting of three large volumes, gives us his matured thought 
in this field. For comprehensiveness of treatment and at- 
tractiveness of style it has no superior in the whole field 
of theological literature. While it is written from the Ar- 
menian standpoint, it is at the same time a thorough discus- 
sion of the whole realm of theological thought. In his "A 
Higher Catechism of Theology" the distinguished author 
has given the substance of the larger work in catechetical 
form. 

In the first volume of his larger work Dr. Pope discusses 
(; The Divine Rule of Faith," "God," and "God and the 
Creature." Under the head of "Preliminaries" he treats 
specifically "Theology," "Revelation to Man," "By Jesus 
Christ," "In the Christian Church," and "Theological 
Science." 

His introductory paragraph will suffice to put the whole 
situation before us: "Christian theology is the science of 
God and divine things based upon the revelation made to 
mankind in Jesus Christ and variously systematized in the 
Christian Church. All that belongs to the preliminaries of 
our study may be distributed under the several heads sug- 
gested by this definition, which is so framed as to include, 
first, theology proper; secondly, its limitation to relations 
between God and mankind; thirdly, its essential connec- 
tion with Christ; fourthly, its characteristics as developed 
under various influences in the Christian Church ; and, lastly, 
its title to the name of science. The introductory remarks 
which will be made on the several subjects have for their 
object simply to prepare the mind of the student for what 
lies before him and to give a few hints which will all after- 
wards be expanded in due course." 

Defining theology proper, the author says: "God is the 
source and the subject and the end of theology. The stricter 



THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE. 



and earlier use of the word limited it to the doctrine of the 
iriune God and his attributes. But in modern usage it in- 
cludes the whole compass of the science of religion or the 
relation of all things to God. This gives it its unity and 
dignity and sanctity. It is A Deo, De Deo, in Deum; from 
God in its origin, concerning God in its substance, and it 
leads to God in all its issues ; his name is in it." 

In the second volume Dr. Pope takes up the subjects of 
'"Sin," "The Mediatorial Ministry," and "The Administra- 
tion of Redemption" ; while in the third volume he con- 
tinues "The Administration of Redemption," and finally dis- 
cusses "Eschatology." 

Thomas O. Summers. 

Doubtless the greatest theologian produced by the South- 
ern branch of Methodism was Dr. Thomas O. Summers. 
While professor of systematic theology in Vanderbilt Uni- 
versity he delivered a series of lectures on the Twenty-Five 
Articles of Religion of our Church. After his death Dr. J. 
J. Tigert, who was then professor in the same university, 
edited Dr. Summers's manuscripts and issued them in two 
large volumes. Following is the title-page : 

"Systematic Theology: A Complete Body of Wesleyan 
Arminian Divinity, Consisting of Lectures on the Twenty- 
Five Articles of Religion. By the Late Rev. Thomas O. 
Summers, D.D., LL.D., Professor of Systematic Theology in 
Vanderbilt University. The Whole Arranged and Revised, 
with Introduction, Copious Notes, Explanatory and Supple- 
mentary, and a Theological Glossary. By the Rev. Jno. J. 
Tigert, M.A., S.T.B., Professor in Vanderbilt University." 

In the Introduction Dr. Tigert says : "For conservatism, 
orthodoxy, broad theological scholarship, and particularly 
for careful, conscientious, and patient study of all the ele- 
ments of the Arminian system of theology — the system 
which gave such complete satisfaction to his head and heart 



STUDIES L\ METHODIST LITERATURE. 



— Dr. Summers was confessedly without a superior in the 
ranks of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. From the 
separate organization of the Church until his death he stood 
over hymn book and Discipline and theological publications 
as the guardian of orthodoxy, saving the Church from the 
taint of many an incipient heresy. For seven consecutive 
years (1875-82) the material collected in this work was read 
as a series of lectures before the students of Vanderbilt Uni- 
versity." 

The work bears the marks of the scholar, the theologian, 
and the Christian. It must be read to be appreciated. 

Wilbur F. Tillett. 

Perhaps the greatest living theologian of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, South, is Dean Tillett, of Vanderbilt 
University. For several years he has been dean of the 
faculty and professor of systematic theology in this in- 
stitution. Naturally a theologian, he has here had abundant 
opportunity for the exercise of his gifts and endowments. 

Dr. Tillett's most noteworthy publication is his "Personal 
Salvation; or, Studies in Christian Doctrine Pertaining to 
the Spiritual Life." The main title, "Personal Salvation," is 
really not descriptive of the character and scope of the work. 
Presumably the learned author selected this to emphasize the 
evangelical note so prominent. It is doubtless the best con- 
cise treatment of the real fundamental tenets of our theology 
extant. 

Dr. Tillett says : "There are some doctrines of the Chris- 
tian religion which enter but little into preaching. Their 
omission does not seriously affect the spiritual life of the 
Church, because they have no immediate bearing upon Chris- 
tian experience. There are other doctrines which must be 
taught and preached everywhere, at all times, and by all 
preachers of righteousness. If they are not, Christian experi- 
ence and the spiritual life of the Church soon come to an 



THEOLOGICAL LITERATURE. 



105 



end. The doctrines set forth in this volume belong to the 
latter class. They are the simplest yet most essential doc- 
trines of the Christian system." 

A careful study of this book would not only develop 
greater intelligence in our belief, but would at the same time 
greatly deepen the spiritual life of the people. 

Other Writers. 

This chapter must not be closed without mention of Gross 
Alexander's "Son of Man," eloquent testimony to the value 
of which is borne by the fact that within a few years after 
its appearance the eighth edition had been issued; also 
Sheldon's "History of Christian Doctrine" and his "Unbelief 
in the Nineteenth Century," Banks's "Manual of Christian 
Doctrine," Haygood's "Man of Galilee," and Atkins's "The 
Kingdom in the Cradle." 

The "Library of Biblical and Theological Literature," 
consisting of nine volumes and edited by George R. Crooks 
and Bishop Hurst, is a valuable set of books. 

Ralston's "Elements of Divinity" is an admirable course 
of lectures, comprising a system of theology as taught in the 
Holy Scriptures. 

Questions. 

1. What is the crowning glory of Methodism? 

2. What is spirituality? 

3. What are the doctrinal standards of Methodism? 

4. What are the main tenets of Methodist theology? 

5. Who was the first great theologian of Methodism? 

6. What is his greatest work? 

7. What other great theologian came at a later date ? 

8. What theologian of great merit did the Southern branch of 
Methodism produce several years ago? 

9. Who is the present greatest living theologian of Southern 
Methodism? 

10. What is his most noteworthy book? 



106 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



Bibliography. 

McClintock and Strong's "Cyclopedia." 

Watson's "Institutes." 

Summers's "Systematic Theology." 

Tiliett's "Personal Salvation." 

Sheldon'9 "History of Christian Doctrine." 

Crooks and Hurst's "Library of Theological Literature." 



CHAPTER VIII. 
Biographical Literature. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



Biographical Literature. 

Chrysostom says : "The true Shekinah is man." 

There are many channels of divine revelation. There is a 
marvelous revelation in nature. John Fiske, in his "Through 
Nature to God," says: "When we have once thoroughly 
grasped the monotheistic conception of the universe as an 
organic whole, animated by the omnipresent Spirit of God, 
we have forever taken leave of that materialism to which the 
universe was merely an endless multitude of phenomena. 
We begin to catch glimpses of the meaning and dramatic 
purpose of all things; at all events we rest assured that 
there really is such a meaning. Though the history of our 
lives and of all life on our planet as written down by the 
unswerving hand of nature may exhibit all events and their 
final purpose in unmistakable sequence, yet to our limited 
vision the several fragments of the record, like the leaves of 
the Cumsean sibyl, caught by the fitful breezes of circum- 
stance and whirled wantonly hither and thither, lie in such 
intricate confusion that no ingenuity can enable us wholly 
to decipher the legend. But could we attain to a knowledge 
commensurate with the reality, could we penetrate the hid- 
den depths where, according to Dante (Paradiso, xxxiii. 8), 
the story of nature, no longer scattered in truant leaves, is 
bound with divine love in a mystic volume, we should find 
therein no traces of hazard or incongruity. From man's 
origin we gather hints of his destiny, and the study of evolu- 
tion leads our thoughts through nature to God." 

Then there is the majestic manifestation made in history. 
Here we are constrained to acknowledge that "Eternal not 
ourselves that makes for righteousness." Instead of history 
being "philosophy teaching by example," it is rather God 

(109) 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



teaching the world by a system of object lessons in right- 
eousness. With such a feeling history is a constant source 
of delight, and the vision of coming eras in anticipation is 
an unfailing force in the human heart. The student follows 
the majestic movements of history with a consciousness that 
they all point to a goal when right shall finally be triumphant. 
Like a seer, his eyes rest on that "far-off divine event toward 
which the whole creation moves." 

But God's greatest revelations are made through per- 
sonality. Carlyle says, "The history of the world is the 
biography of great men"; and Emerson says: "Nature 
seems to exist for the excellent. The world is upheld by the 
veracity of good men: they make the earth wholesome. 
They who lived with them found the earth glad and nutri- 
tious. Life is sweet and tolerable only in our belief in such 
society, and actually or ideally we manage to live with su- 
periors. Their names are wrought into the verbs of lan- 
guage, their works and effigies are in our houses, and every 
circumstance of the day recalls an anecdote of them." He 
also says that the Bible cannot be closed till the last great 
man is born. 

Personality is the greatest force in the universe. This is 
true in the material realm. All things material receive their 
values from the personalities associated with them. It is 
true in the realm of the intellectual. We are in the grip of 
the thoughts of the world's master minds. Every great 
movement, every great invention, every great achievement 
has been the result of a great personality. Our most valua- 
ble investment and possession lies in personality. In the 
realm of the spirit we are the beneficiaries of the prophets 
and the good and great of all ages. 

Our embarrassment in this study grows out of the abun- 
dance of material at our command. The only thing to do is 
to give a suggestive outline that may serve the reader in 
further investigations in this field of literature. 



BIOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE. 1 1 x 

Biography of John Wesley. 

Of course the best sources of information in regard to the 
life of John Wesley are his own Journal and letters. In fact, 
from these two sources may be drawn all needed facts as to 
the main achievements of this life of wonderful activity. To 
these original sources all writers have gone for their data. 

Among the older "Lives" of Wesley may be mentioned the 
ones by Clarke and Watson and Moore and Southey. Those 
by Clarke and Watson and Moore are sympathetic; while 
that of Southey is critical but luminous and, from the lit- 
erary standpoint, admirable. Among those coming later are 
the ones by Stevens and Lelievre and Overton and Telford, 
all having their respective merits ; while that of Tyerman is 
monumental and bears evidence of immense labor in its pro- 
duction. 

Two "Lives" of Wesley have appeared within very recent 
years that have greatly enriched this department of our 
literary possessions. One is Professor Winchester's "The 
Life of John Wesley" and the other is Fitchett's "Wesley 
and His Century." 

Professor Winchester, occupying the chair of English 
literature in Wesleyan University, has brought together 
keen literary insight and admirable style. His book con- 
sists of nine chapters in which we have discussed the fol- 
lowing subjects: "Parentage and Youth," "Oxford and 
Georgia," "The Year of Transition, 1738-39," "The Early 
Work," "The Extension of the Work," "Wesley's Private 
Life," "The Years of Success," "The Closing Years," and 
"The Man." 

The work by Dr. Fitchett cannot be too highly recom- 
mended. It comes near reaching the ideal. It is not only 
a rehearsal of the main facts of the life of Wesley, but it 
is a philosophical presentation of Methodism. The title- 
page reads : "Wesley an4 His Century : A Study of Spiritual 
Forces. By the Rev. W. H. Fitchett, B.A., LL.D., Principal 



112 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



of the Methodist Ladies' College, Hawthorne, Melbourne, 
President of the Methodist Church of Australia, author of 
'How England Saved Europe,' " etc. 

The book is divided into five parts, and the following are 
the subtitles : Book I., "The Making of a Man" ; Book II., 
"The Training of a Saint" ; Book III., "The Quickening of 
a Nation" ; Book IV., "The Evolution of a Church" ; Book 
V., "Personal Characteristics." 

The author's insight into the philosophy of history may 
be seen from the following paragraph: "And yet Wesley's 
true monument, we repeat, is not the Church that bears his 
name. It is the England of the twentieth century. Nay, it 
is the whole changed temper of the modern world : the new 
ideals in its politics, the new spirit in its religion, the new 
standard in its philanthropy. Who wants to understand 
W esley's work must contrast the moral temper of the eight- 
eenth century with that of the twentieth century, for one of 
the greatest personal factors in producing the wonderful 
change is Wesley himself." 

In writing of Mr. Wesley's triumphant expression in 
death — "The best of all is, God is with us" — Dr. Fitchett 
says: "Death is the common, the inevitable experience, an 
experience clouded in mystery, and for the natural spirit 
dark with vague alarms. It is easy in some moods to ignore 
death, to forget its existence, to face it with recklessness. 
It is possible to drift into the unknown sea with failing 
senses and no sign of terror. But to die clear-eyed and 
glad, as Wesley did; to die with trembling lips breaking 
into praise and the undying spirit exultant with triumph ; to 
put to that last and uttermost test of death all the beliefs of 
life and find that they are true — who does not envy an ex- 
perience like this? The keen, swift, and unfaltering logic 
which Wesley used to defend the teachings and beliefs of 
his life is no more triumphant and final than the logic hid- 
den in the peace of his death." 



BIOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE. 



Biography of Charles Wesley. 

John and Charles Wesley were united in heart and aim in 
life, so it is fitting that they should be united in fame and 
glory. Some one has said that John was the head and 
Charles the heart of Methodism. Of course the founder of 
Methodism will ever hold the chief place in the world's 
thought and admiration, but first among his coadjutors must 
be placed his brother Charles. He was the first member of 
the Holy Club at Oxford, the first to receive the name of 
Methodist, the first of the two brothers to experience re- 
generation, the first to administer the sacrament of the 
Lord's Supper in the societies apart from the Church, and 
the first and for many years the chief one to conduct Meth- 
odist worship at the regular Church hours. As stated in 
another chapter, the main ministry of Charles Wesley was 
in his work as lyric poet of Methodism. Henry Ward 
Beecher says : "I would rather have written that hymn of 
Wesley's, 'Jesus, Lover of my soul,' than to have all the fame 
of all the kings that ever sat on the earth. It has more 
power in it. I would rather have written such a hymn than 
to have heaped up all the treasures of the richest man on 
the globe. He will die. His money will go to his heirs, and 
they will divide it. But that hymn will go singing until 
the last trump brings forth the angel band, and then I think 
it will mount up on some lip to the very presence of God." 

The life of Charles Wesley, while not so fertile a field 
for biographical writers as that of his more illustrious 
brother, has, nevertheless, received much attention. The 
reader may find material in Whitehead's "Lives of John and 
Charles Wesley," Stevenson's "Memorials of the Wesley 
Family," Adams's "The Poet-Preacher," Jackson's "Journal 
of Charles Wesley," and Dove's "Memorials of the Wesley 
Family" ; but the standard "Life of Charles Wesley" is that 
by Rev. Thomas Jackson, D.D. There should by all means 
be a modern edition of this great book issued. In speaking 
8 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



of it Dr. Abel Stevens says: "I cannot too strongly com- 
mend this book. It has been our best history of Methodism. 
It is to be regretted that the American edition omits many 
of its best specimens of Charles Wesley's poetry. The Eng- 
lish edition is a mosaic set with the gems of his genius." 

The following will not only show the style of Dr. Jack- 
son but will also call attention to a vital element of the char- 
acter of his hero: "The soul of Mr. Charles Wesley was 
formed for friendship. He possessed such a frankness of 
disposition, combined with such a warmth of affection and 
integrity of purpose, as at once commanded the love and 
esteem of all who were like-minded. His sympathies were 
deep and tender, so that his friendship was felt to be of 
inestimable value, especially in seasons of affliction, when 
help is the most needed. He was indeed 'a brother' born 
for the benefit of those who are in 'adversity,' and possessed 
great power to soothe and cheer. The pain and sickness in 
which most of his life was spent, the successive deaths of 
five of his children, added to the natural gentleness and 
tenderness of his heart, enabled him so to enter into the 
views and feelings of the sorrowful that they were at once 
strengthened and encouraged and blessed God for the con- 
solation of which he made his servant the instrument." 

Biography of John Fletcher. 

Among the most noted of the early adherents of Meth- 
odism must be placed Rev. John Fletcher. He was a native 
of Switzerland, a graduate of Geneva, a man of eminent 
literary ability, and a Christian of spotless purity. He was 
an able and industrious writer, hence his valuable service 
rendered during the controversial period of the movement. 
Southey says that he was a man of rare talents and rarer 
virtue. No age or country has ever produced a man of 
more fervent piety or more perfect charity. No Church has 
ever possessed a more apostolic minister. It is said that as a 



BIOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE. 



"5 



controversialist Mr. Fletcher had the double power of lay- 
ing an antagonist at his feet by his great learning and logic 
and then raising him to self-respect and to respect for the 
system assaulted by the power of a beautiful charity that 
never failed. Wesley being too busy with the revival work, 
it fell to Mr. Fletcher to take up his pen in defense of the 
Wesleyan faith, which he did with rare skill and effective- 
ness. His most masterly work, perhaps, is his "Checks to 
Antinomianism," which left nothing to be said in refuting 
the attacks of Calvinists. 

Joseph Benson is entitled to preeminence as the biographer 
of Fletcher. On the title-page we find these words : "The 
Life of the Rev. John W. De La Fletchere : Compiled from 
the Narrative of Rev. Mr. Wesley ; the Biographical Notes 
of Rev. Mr. Gilpin, from His Own Letters, and Other Au- 
thentic Documents, Many of Which Were Never Before 
Published." Then follows the story of the saint of early 
Methodism. 

In the closing paragraph are these words : "Anxious to the 
very last moment of his life to discharge the sacred duties 
of his office, he performed the services of the Church and 
administered the sacrament to upward of two hundred com- 
municants the Sunday preceding his death, confiding in that 
Almighty Power which had given him life and resigning 
that life into the hands of Him who gave it with that com- 
posure of mind and those joyful hopes of a happy resur- 
rection which ever accompany the last moments of the just." 
Thus he ceased at once to work and live. 

Biography of Richard Watson. 

No study of Methodist biography would be complete 
that fails to take note of the "Memoirs of the Life and Writ- 
ings of the Rev. Richard Watson," by Thomas Jackson. In 
the Preface Dr. Jackson says: "In the following pages an 
attempt is made to trace the personal history of Mr. Wat- 



1 16 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 

son ; and though the narrative has been compiled under many 
disadvantages, chiefly arising from the pressure of other 
engagements, it is presumed the work contains a faithful 
though inadequate record of his life and labors. The writer 
will always consider it one of his greatest privileges and one 
for which he will ever be thankful to Divine Providence 
that he was favored with the friendship of this great and 
good man and for many years lived in habits of constant 
intercourse and correspondence with him. They have con- 
versed together on almost every subject of theology and of 
public interest as well as upon all the literary projects upon 
which Mr. Watson was engaged. To give an honest and 
just view of his habits, character, and opinions has been the 
writer's aim; but no one is more sensible than himself that 
his descriptions fall far short of the original. It would have 
required a pen like his own to do full justice to Mr. Wat- 
son's intellectual endowments and his great exertions in the 
cause of Christianity." 

Concluding his work, the able biographer says : "Being 
now freed from the burden of the flesh, which had so fre- 
quently interfered with his mental exercises and with his 
active services in the Church and had so long proved a 
source of intense suffering, his sanctified spirit knows no 
more pain, 

"And hears the inexpressible nuptial song 
In the blest kingdoms meek of joy and love. 
There entertain him all the hosts above 
In solemn troops and sweet societies 
That sing, and singing in their glory move 
And wipe the tears forever from his eyes." 

Dr. Jabez Bunting's "Memorials of Richard Watson" is 
a work in which the author exhibits great literary ability. 

Biography of George Whitefield. 
Another classic in this realm of the literature of Meth- 
odism is Dr. Joseph Belcher's "George Whitefield: A Biogra- 



BIOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE. 



117 



phy." Dr. Belcher states his aim as follows: "In the prep- 
aration of this memoir the compiler has sought to collect 
together incidents which might interest and instruct, espe- 
cially in connection with Whitefield's labors in America, to 
present him as much as possible in his own dress, and to 
use the facts of his life to incite and cherish his own spirit, 
so far as he had the Spirit of Christ. Facts reflecting on 
the reputation and feelings of others have been used only 
as the interests of truth seemed to demand. It would have 
been easy to place on almost every page an array of authori- 
ties and to give here a long list of friends to whom the 
writer has been indebted for aid; but the sole object of the 
volume is the honor of Christ in the salvation of men, and 
that this may be accomplished we pray that the blessing of 
Heaven may rest upon it." 

The author gives full particulars of that ecclesiastical farce 
known as the "Trial of Whitefield," which occurred in 
Charleston in 1740. 

Another valuable work on the life of Methodism's first 
great orator is Dr. John Gillies's "Memoirs of Rev. George 
Whitefield." This book contains an extensive collection of 
the sermons and writings of Mr. Whitefield. This makes it 
a valuable book of reference, but rather voluminous for 
popular use. Any one who has the time to do so would 
render the Church a memorable service by preparing a 
modern edition of either of these books. 

Biography of Jesse Lee. 

When Colonel Hayne was twitted for letting his antag- 
onist in the United States Senate put him to flight, he re- 
plied: "But it took Daniel Webster to do it." No doubt 
many a theological controversialist who met defeat at the 
hands of Jesse Lee, the apostle of New England Methodism, 
could make the same reply. In 18 16 Lee died, leaving to 
the Church a legacy of Christian example rich In excellence 



1 18 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



and replete with memorials of self-sacrifice and devotion. 
It was fitting that the record of such a life should be pre- 
served to coming generations in suitable literary form. In 
1823 a memoir of his life was prepared by one of his con- 
temporaries, but the character of the work seems to have 
been disappointing to Lee's friends and the expectations of 
the Church. 

The classic on the life of Lee is "The Life and Times of 
Jesse Lee," by Rev. Leroy M. Lee, D.D. It was published 
in Charleston, S. C, in 1848 by John Early for the Meth- 
odist Episcopal Church, South. 

"The times," says the biographer, "in which Mr. Lee 
lived and labored were full of interest. Methodism was 
then in its formative state. So also was society. They were 
adapted to each other. Both were young, ardent, and en- 
terprising, 'rejoicing like young men to run a race.' The 
downfall of the English hierarchy, civil and religious, offered 
to both a career refulgent with righteousness and as bound- 
less as eternity. They entered it, and the race was for im- 
mortality. Let the civil historian describe the brilliant 
course our country has run in giving to freedom a home. 
Ours is the less popular but not less valuable or useful duty 
of recording the career of a Church foremost in giving 
liberty to conscience and in carrying the joys of salvation 
to the weary and heavy-laden/' 

Biography of James Osgood Andrew. 

No student of American Methodism, and especially in the 
most critical period, can afford to be indifferent to the story 
of Bishop Andrew. "The Life and Letters of James Osgood 
Andrew, with Glances at His Contemporaries and at Events 
in Church History," by the Rev. George G. Smith, A.M., is 
worthy not only of a place in every Methodist home, but of 
careful study as well. 

The gifted and saintly Marvin was selected by the family 



BIOGRAPHICAL LITERATURE. 



119 



of Bishop Andrew to prepare his life, but he was sent upon 
a mission around the world before he could comply with the 
request. He died soon after his return, so that the material 
for the book was returned to the family. Dr. George G. 
Smith was finally selected for the work, and the result is 
before us. The voluminous writer has given the Church a 
most estimable contribution to our literature. 

Biography of John B. McFerrin. 

Methodism has never produced a greater hero than John 
B. McFerrin, and no one better qualified to write his life 
could have been found than Bishop O. P. Fitzgerald. The 
good Bishop says: "McFerrin will not lose by the per- 
spective. He towers the peer of the greatest men of his 
day, and he will always hold a front place in the picture the 
Church historian will paint of the stirring times in which 
he lived and acted his part. The footprints of a giant will be 
seen by those who in coming generations shall trace his life, 
and at least the anatomy of a mighty frame will be left to 
posterity. Whether they will see the contour and color of 
life and feel the heart throbs of the living man depends 
mainly on what is here written." 

Other Biographical Writings. 

This part of our literary inheritance is so prolific that it 
is utterly impossible to give the barest outline in so limited 
a study as this, but the following must be mentioned at least : 
Smith's "Life and Times of George F. Pierce," Cody's "The 
Life and Labors of Francis Asbury Mood," Henkle's "Life 
of Bascom," Du Bose's "Life of Barbee," Wightman's "Life 
of Capers," Finney's "Life and Labors of Enoch Mather 
Marvin," Paine's "Life of McKendree," Fitzgerald's "Life 
of Summers," the "Life and Letters of Stephen Olin," and 
Du Bose's "Life of Joshua Soule" and "Life of Francis As- 
bury." 



120 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



The "Autobiography of Peter Cartwright," edited by Dr. 
W. P. Strickland, is an interesting record of a man much 
of whose strength lay in his oddities and eccentricities. 

Questions. 

t. What is the true Shekinah? 

2. What are some of the mediums of revelation? 

3. What is the greatest? 

4. What are some of the earlier "Lives of Wesley" ? 

5. What two modern works are worthy of special reference? 

6. Who was the first member of the Holy Club ? 

7. What is the standard "Life of Charles Wesley"? 

8. Who was the most saintly man of early Methodism? 

9. Who was the "apostle of New England Methodism" ? 

10. Why is the life of James O. Andrew of special interest to us? 

Bibliography. 

"Lives of Wesley" by Clarke, Watson, Moore, Southey, Winches- 
ter, and Fitchett. 

Jackson's "Life of Charles Wesley." 
Benson's "Life of Fletcher." 
Jackson's "Memoirs of Watson." 
L. M. Lee's "Life of Jesse Lee." 
Smith's "Life of Andrew." 
Fitzgerald's "Life of McFerrin." 



CHAPTER IX. 
Historical Literature. 



CHAPTER IX. 

Historical Literature. 

To the educated man there is no more interesting study 
than that of history. Dr. George A. Gordon, in one of his 
delightful books, beautifully describes the sphere of the edu- 
cated man. He says : "The first thing noticeable is the ex- 
pansion and enrichment of his interests. His sense of his- 
tory is a constant source of comfort, and his anticipation of 
new eras that are coming is likewise an unfailing force in 
his heart. He looks before and after, and in a noble sense 
pines for what is not. His words in space and time are very 
grand, and his imagination is under the incessant and mag- 
nificent appeal that comes out of the great past behind him 
and the vast sky over him. Through the instrumentality of 
books he walks with the men who lived at the dawn of the 
world, when the morning stars sang together and the sons of 
God shouted for joy. He migrates with Abraham, leads Is- 
rael out of bondage with Moses, is rapt with Isaiah in the 
vision of the eternal, goes abroad with the psalmists when 
their hearts are full to hear them break into song, listens to 
Jesus on the Mountain of Beatitudes, and keeps company 
with Paul and John in their great thoughts and enterprises. 
Or, striking out into another mighty civilization, he lives in 
the streets of Athens in the age of Pericles; lives in the 
wondrous beauty of Homer's world; opens his life to the 
appeal of wisdom, eloquence, art, poetry, and the thousand 
rich and splendid interests. Following his human sympa- 
thies, he sees Rome founded, looks upon Caesar and Tacitus, 
wends his way down the long, dark medieval world, is pres- 
ent at the birth of the modern era, hears Dante sing, beholds 
Michelangelo build and Raphael paint, witnesses the mag- 
nificent pageant that Shakespeare puts upon the stage, and 

(123) 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



enters into the new thought, the new science, the vaster life 
of to-day." 

Moses Coit Tyler, in his Introduction to "The Library of 
Universal History," mentions the following as some of the 
benefits from the study of history : The exercise of the mem- 
ory in retaining facts, the training of the critical faculty, the 
mental and moral discipline, the necessity of investigation 
in the realm not of the exact but the approximate, the cul- 
tivation of fair-mindedness as a habit, the enlargement of 
one's horizon, and the profit we may derive from the mis- 
takes of others. 

The devout student is ever conscious that he is watching 
in history the development of the divine ideal. To the super- 
ficial reader history may be an incoherent jumble of facts 
and incidents, but to the deeper student it is the systematic 
adjustment of the plan of the ages under a wise and benefi- 
cent Providence. The problem of the ages has been God's 
relation to the world and to human affairs. In the effort to 
solve it many theories have been evolved. The atheist cuts 
the question short by saying that there is no God. The 
agnostic says that we cannot know. The deist says that 
there is a God, but he has no connection with the world and 
no concern for man. The materialistic scientist says that 
God is simply the great First Cause. The Christian says that 
there is a personal God, both in nature and in human affairs. 
This brings up the doctrines of transcendence and imma- 
nence, and the great book of the future is to be written upon 
the reconciliation of the two. Here lies the foundation of 
our truth of Divine Providence. 

The philosophy of history reveals the providential mission 
of Methodism. It marked the birth of modern missionary 
activity. It was the soil in which this long-delayed thought 
took root. Methodism was inherently missionary, as all 
true spiritual life is. Hence the Wesleys and Whitefield 
came to America. Dr. Coke, the founder of modern mis- 



HISTORICAL LITERATURE. 



"5 



sions, fitted out his own ship and started to India, but died 
on the way. His heroic little body was buried at sea, whence 
the waves might wash his dissolving dust to the shores of 
all lands. 

The history of early Methodism is found in the records 
of the great leaders who labored and suffered and died in 
the interests of the new movement. The original sources 
are found in the works of John Wesley, in the lives of 
Charles Wesley, Thomas Coke, George Whitefield, Richard 
Watson, and the various memoirs of the prominent men of 
that period. Perhaps the best history of Methodism in Eng- 
land is Dr. George Smith's "History of Methodism." It 
consists of three octavo volumes and is divided as follows: 
Volume L, "Wesley and His Times"; Volume II., "The 
Middle Age of Methodism" ; Volume III., "Modern Meth- 
odism." 

Those who desire to look especially into the history of 
Canadian Methodism will find G. F. Playter's "History of 
Methodism in Canada" very good. 

Nathan Bangs's four-volume work entitled "History of 
the Methodist Episcopal Church from 1766- 1840" will give 
information with special reference to the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church. 

Stevens's "History of Methodism." 

The best general history of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church is the one by Dr. Abel Stevens. Its full title is, 
"The History of the Religious Movement of the Eighteenth 
Century, Called Methodism, Considered in Its Different De- 
nominational Forms, and Its Relation to British and Ameri- 
can Protestantism." The work comprises three volumes. 
The first covers the period from the origin of Methodism to 
the death of Whitefield, the second volume covers the time 
between the death of Whitefield and the death of Wesley, 
while the third volume records the events from the death 



126 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



of Wesley to the Centenary Jubilee of Methodism. The 
work is simply invaluable to the student of ecclesiastical his- 
tory. It happily combines accuracy of statement with a most 
charming style. In the Preface the author says : 

As a great religious development of the last century, affecting 
largely our common Protestantism and unquestionably destined to 
affect it still more profoundly, Methodism does not belong exclu- 
sively to the denominations that have appropriated its name. I 
have therefore attempted to write its history in a liberal spirit and 
to consider it not as a sectarian but as a general religious move- 
ment, ostensibly within the Church of England, at least during the 
lives of the chief Methodist founders, but reaching beyond it to 
most of the Protestantism of England and America. I have en- 
deavored to keep this point of view till the movement was reduced 
into sectarian organizations. 

I am not aware that this plan has been followed by any of the 
numerous writers on Methodism, Calvinistic or Arminian. It is not 
only historically just, but it affords special advantage to the variety 
and interest of the narrative; for whereas the Calvinistic writers, 
on the one side, have had as their chief characters Whitefield, the 
Countess of Huntingdon, Howell Harris, Rowlands, Jones, Ber- 
ridge, Venn, Romaine, Madan, the Arminian authors, on the other, 
the Wesleys, Grimshaw, Fletcher, Nelson, Coke, Benson, Clarke, I 
claim them all as "workers together with God." And the marvelous 
"itinerary" of Whitefield runs parallel with the equally marvelous 
travels and labors of Wesley. Marking distinctly the contrasts of 
the Calvinistic and Arminian sections of Methodism, I have never- 
theless been able to show that much more harmony exists between 
them through most of their history than has usually been supposed — 
that, in fact, the essential unity of the movement was maintained, 
with but incidental and salutary variations, down to the death of 
Whitefield. In this respect at least I trust that my pages will teach 
a lesson in Christian charity and catholicity which shall be grateful 
to all good men who may read them. And as it is more the office 
of history to narrate than polemically to discuss opinions, I have 
endeavored not to impair the much-needed lesson in my accounts 
of parties. It has been as impossible as inexpedient to dissemble my 
own theological opinions, but it is hoped that they will not be 
found unnecessarily obtruded. As the Wesleyan section of the 
movement was the most extensive and took finally an organized and 
permanent form, it necessarily takes the lead in the earlier part of 



HISTORICAL LITERATURE. 



127 



the narrative and almost exclusively occupies the latter part of it. 
I have endeavored, however, to give fullest attention, required by 
the plan of the work, to other Methodist bodies. 

After describing the moral condition of England and the 
spiritual condition of the Church, Dr. Stevens says : 

Such was the moral condition of England when Methodism came 
forth from the gates of Oxford, not to revive the ecclesiastical 
questions over which Churchmen and Puritans had fought and 
exhausted each other, nor even to appeal to the Reformation, with 
its incomplete corrections of popery, but to recall the masses to 
their Bibles, which say so little about those questions but which 
declare that "the kingdom of God cometh not with observation"; 
that it "is not meat and drink, but righteousness, peace, and joy in 
the Holy Ghost." Acknowledging the importance of sound doc- 
trine, it nevertheless dealt mostly in the theology which relates to 
the spiritual life — faith, justification, regeneration, sanctification, and 
the witness of the Spirit. These were its great ideas, and never 
since the apostolic age were they brought out more clearly. Wesley 
formed no creed for the English Methodists; and though some of 
his writings are recognized in his chapel deeds and by the civil 
courts as the standard of Methodist doctrine, yet from their num- 
ber and the great variety of subjects treated in them a vigorous 
interpretation of them is impossible. In providing an organization 
for Methodism in the New World, where it was destined to have 
its chief range, he so abridged the Articles of the Church of England 
as to exclude the most formidable of modern theological controver- 
sies and make it possible for Calvinists, alike with Arminians, to 
enter its communion. He prescribed no mode of baptism, but vir- 
tually recognized all modes. 

Dr. A. B. Hyde's "The Story of Methodism" is an inter- 
esting record, fully illustrated. 

McTyeire's "History of Methodism" 

Here we have, not a history of Southern Methodism, but 
a history of Methodism from the Southern standpoint and 
by a Southerner. The work is the response to a request by 
the Centenary Committee, indorsed by the College of Bishops 
of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. It comprises "a 



128 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



view of the rise of the revival of spiritual religion in the 
first half of the eighteenth century and of the principal 
agents by whom it was promoted in Europe and America, 
with some account of the doctrine and polity of Episcopal 
Methodism in the United States and the means and manner 
of its extension down to A.D. 1884." 

The Bishop says : "Much the larger portion of the volume 
deals with that wherein all Methodists agree. I have en- 
deavored to give, along with sketches of the chief actors in 
preparing and carrying forward the great work of God, the 
truths that were vital to it and the type of Christian experi- 
ence developed by it ; also the gradual and providential evo- 
lution of the system both in doctrine and polity, so that one 
who honors the book with a perusal may come to the end, 
not only with a tolerably clear understanding of the polity 
and doctrine of Episcopal Methodism, but, what is of in- 
finitely greater importance, he may obtain some personal 
knowledge of that way of salvation which the Wesleyans 
teach. Moral or abstract truth knows no point of the com- 
pass; but historical truth does, and the truth of history 
proves this. Methodism in the South has suffered injustice 
from the manner in which it has been presented by learned, 
honest, and able writers in the North. The writer does not 
presume to be free from the infirmities to which he is liable 
in common with others. He proposes to tell the truth as 
he sees it, and this may lead him to tell truths affecting 
others which they have not seen and to present admitted 
facts in a different light. The reader is advised that this is 
not a history of Southern Methodism, but of Methodism 
fiom a Southern point of view. In the South Methodism was 
first successfully planted, and from thence it spread North 
and East and West. If all the members claimed by all the 
branches be counted, there is a preponderance of American 
Methodism now, as at the beginning, in the South." 

In fixing his starting point the author begins by saying: 



HISTORICAL LITERATURE. 



129 



"It was not new doctrine but new life that the first Meth- 
odists sought for themselves and others. To realize in the 
hearts and conduct of men the true ideal of Christianity, to 
maintain its personal experience, and to extend it — this was 
their design, and their system of government grew up out 
of this and was accordingly shaped by it. The mission of 
Luther was to reform a corrupted Christianity ; that of Wes- 
ley, to revive a dying one. Lutheranism dealt more with 
controversy ; Wesleyanism, with experience. The abuses and 
errors of Rome, its defiant attitude, and oppressive rule made 
combatants of the reformers. Their prayer was: Teach 
my hands to war and my fingers to fight/ The Methodists 
came forth as evangelists. They persuaded men. With 
existing institutions and creeds they had no quarrel. 'In 
their bosoms there was no rankling grudge against authori- 
ties ; there was no particle of that venom which, wherever 
it lodges, infects and paralyzes the religious affections/ 
Their controversies were not with Church and State authori- 
ties, but with sin and Satan, and their one object was to save 
souls." 

As to the origin of the term "Methodist," Bishop Mc- 
Tyeire says : "No sooner had Charles Wesley become devout 
than he longed to be useful to those about him. He began 
to attend the weekly sacrament and induced two or three 
other students to attend with him. The regularity of their 
behavior led a young collegian to call them 'Methodists' ; and 
'as the name was new and quaint, it clave to them immedi- 
ately, and from that time all that had any connection with 
them were thus distinguished/ The first Methodists were 
the two Wesleys, Robert Kirkham, and William Morgan. 
To these were subsequently added Whitefield, Clayton, 
Broughton, Ingham, Hervey, Whitelamb, Hall, Gambold, 
Kinchin, Smith, Salmon, Wagon, Boyce, Atkinson, and 
others. Some of them made history. John Gambold became 
Moravian bishop ; but, like the leaders of the Holy Club, it 
9 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



was not till after years of laborious endeavor to establish 
a righteousness of his own that he was led to submit to the 
'righteousness of God by faith of Jesus Christ.' " 

A very interesting section of the book is that which treats 
of the "Christmas Conference/' when the Church was or- 
ganized in America. "On Friday, the 24th of December, 
1784, the little company rode to Baltimore, and at 10 a.m. 
began the first 'General Conference' in the Lovely Lane 
Chapel." The Twenty-Five Articles of Religion prepared 
by Wesley were adopted; the Standards of Doctrine which 
had been received by the British Methodists were also 
adopted. The Conference adopted the "General Rules" and 
ordered that they be read once a year in each congregation, 
which custom prevails at the present. 

Bishop McTyeire, though having a philosophical mind, 
was not wholly without the sense of . humor. In connection 
with the record of Jesse Lee's visit to Boston he gives the 
following amusing incident: 

One of them [the parsons of Boston] consented that Lee might 
preach in his church on condition that he should select the text and 
present it after Lee had entered the pulpit. To this he agreed. The 
matter was noised through the village, and the house was crowded 
to witness the discomfiture of the newcomer. The introductory- 
service over, the minister handed Lee the text. It was Numbers 
xxii. 21 : "And Balaam rose up in the morning, and saddled his ass." 
The parson composed himself in his seat with a grim look of satis- 
faction. Being well acquainted with the story of Balaam, Lee pro- 
ceeded at once to describe his character, descanting largely upon 
his avarice and love of the wages of unrighteousness, denouncing 
in severe language the baseness of the man who could use the 
prophetic office as a means of gain and could endanger the very- 
souls of the people of Israel for the sake of the wages which Balak 
offered. He then proceeded to describe the oppressed, enslaved, 
and pitiable condition of the ass; spoke affectingly of the patience 
of the creature under burdens and spurs and whippings and abuses ; 
said the ass usually endured without complaining at the abuse heaped 
upon him. Indeed, except the one in the history of Balaam, there had 
never been an instance of an ass speaking and expostulating under 



HISTORICAL LITERATURE. 



ill treatment. He alluded to the saddle and described how galling 
it might become, especially under the weight of a large, fat, heavy- 
man. At this point he cast a knowing look at the minister, a cor- 
pulent person. Having gone through with the exposition of the 
subject, he proceeded to the application. He said that the idea 
might be new to them (it had never struck him until the text was 
given him), but he thought Balaam might be a type of their minis- 
ter. Balaam's ass in many respects reminded him of themselves, 
the congregation of that town, and the saddle bound on the poor 
ass by cords and girths evidently represented the minister's salary 
fastened on them by taxation. Its galling and oppressive influence 
they had often felt. In one instance, as he had been informed, the 
last and only cow of a poor man with a large family had been 
taken and sold to pay the salary of the well-fed incumbent of the 
saddle. 

"History of the Organization of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, South." 

The one particular upon which our young people are fear- 
fully and wonderfully ignorant is the history of the or- 
ganization of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South. We 
should all be profoundly thankful that the prejudices grow- 
ing out of the ecclesiastical rupture of 1844 have long since 
died away, and there should never be any effort to revive 
them ; but the truth of history should always be maintained 
and our young people should be instructed in reference to 
the facts in the case and thus be enabled to understand and 
appreciate the motives that actuated our noble fathers. 

Here is a volume that should have a place in every Sun- 
day school and League library and should be read by every 
young Methodist. Its full title is, "History of the Organiza- 
tion of the Methodist Episcopal Church, South." It com- 
prises all the official proceedings of the General Conference 
which led to the organization of the Southern Church, of 
the Southern Annual Conferences, and the convention which 
effected the organization. It was compiled and published 
by the editors and publishers of the Southwestern Christian 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



Advocate for the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, by 
order of the Louisville Convention, and was printed by Wil- 
liam Cameron in 1845. 

The purpose of the book may be seen from the following, 
taken from the Preface : 

The convention of delegates from the Annual Conferences of 
the slaveholding States, held in Louisville, Ky., in May, 1845, after 
having resolved to organize the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, 
deemed it necessary to lay before the public a statement of the 
events which led to the formation of a distinct ecclesiastical connec- 
tion and of the organization of that connection in order to a better 
understanding of the action, principles, and motives of Southern 
Methodists in the premises, and to preserve for future time a faith- 
ful record of those important facts which might now be collected 
with facility, but which, if not embodied in a permanent form, would 
be liable to be lost to posterity. In accordance with this design, the 
undersigned were appointed a committee to compile and publish a 
"History of the Organization of the Methodist Episcopal Church, 
South," under certain instructions given by the convention. They 
have accordingly endeavored in the best manner in their power 
under the circumstances to fulfill the important trust confided to 
them, and now present to the public the fruit of their labors. 

The document is signed by J. B. McFerrin, M. M. Henkle, 
A. L. P. Green, F. E. Pitts, and John W. Hanner, and is 
dated December, 1845. 

Tigert' s "Constitutional History of American Methodism" 

The untimely death of Bishop Tigert removed from us 
one of the most active and useful men ever given to our 
Church. He was a most vigorous and able writer, and his 
pen was constantly used for noble purposes. In another 
study reference is made to Dr. Summers's "Systematic The- 
ology," which was edited by Dr. Tigert. Other important 
contributions to our literature from him are: "Making of 
Methodism," "The Preacher Himself," "Theism; or, The 
Paths That Lead to God," "Theology and Philosophy," and 
"The Christianity of Christ and His Apostles." 



HISTORICAL LITERATURE. 



133 



The work under review here is one, not for the casual 
reader, but for the student. It will never be one of "the 
best sellers," but will ever be in demand among those who 
wish to be conversant upon this phase of the development 
of our great Church. 

"History of the Revisions of the Discipline" 

Dr. P. A. Peterson, the author of this book, has rendered 
a valuable service to the Church. Dr. Robert Emory, in his 
"History of the Discipline of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church," says : "There is internal evidence that the present 
Discipline was not all composed at one time. At what 
periods, then, were its several parts introduced? These are 
points not only of curious inquiry but essential often to right 
interpretation." 

In the work under review Dr. Peterson follows the plan 
of Dr. David Sherman's "History of the Discipline of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church," and uses as the basis of his 
work the Discipline of 1844. The book will never be in 
popular demand, but is absolutely essential as a book of ref- 
erence to the student of our ecclesiastical legislation. 

There have been issued from time to time histories of dif- 
ferent Conferences which are of great local value, but which 
do not come within the scope of this study. 

As a work for general reference Sheldon's "History of 
the Christian Church" is very fine. 

Questions. 

1. What are some of the benefits from the study of history? 

2. Is all history sacred? 

3. Was Methodism providential? 

4. What is the best general history of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church ? 

5. What Southern bishop wrote a standard history of Methodism? 

6. What are some of the characteristics of his work? 

7. Is there a good history of the organization of the Methodist 
Episcopal Church, South? 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



8. What is our best constitutional history? 

9. Where can we find the story of the revisions of the Discipline ? 

10. Has Methodism made a history worthy of preservation? 

Bibliography. 

Stevens's "History of Methodism." 
McTyeire's "History of Methodism." 

Cameron's "History of the Organization of the Methodist Epis- 
copal Church, South." 

Tigert's "Constitutional History of American Methodism." 
Peterson's "History of the Revisions of the Discipline." 
Sheldon's "History of the Christian Church." 



CHAPTER X. 
Methodist Metaphysicians. 



CHAPTER X. 
Methodist Metaphysicians. 

The word "metaphysics" comes from two Greek words 
and literally means "beyond or after the natural." The word 
comes to us from Aristotle or his followers, who considered 
the natural bodies, physics, to be first in the order of studies 
and the science of mind or intelligence the second. Thus 
the term, meaning "after or beyond physics." Originally it 
meant the science of real as distinguished from phenomenal 
being; also the science of being as such as distinguished 
from the science of determined or concrete being, the science 
of the conceptions and relations which are necessarily im- 
plied to be true of every kind of being. It means philosophy 
in general, or the science of first principles. 

Metaphysics is distinguished as general and special. The 
former is the science of being as being; while the latter is 
the science of any one kind of being, such as the metaphysics 
of morals. In popular language, however, all such studies as 
mental philosophy, psychology, philosophy proper, etc., are 
within this realm. 

Sir William Hamilton, in' his "Lectures on Metaphysics," 
says : "In considering the utility of a branch of knowledge it 
behooves us, in the first place, to estimate its value as viewed 
simply in itself ; and in the second place, to estimate its value 
as viewed in relation to other branches. Considered in itself, 
a science is valuable in proportion as its cultivation is im- 
mediately conducive to the mental improvement of the cul- 
tivator. This may be called its absolute utility. In relation 
to others a science is valuable in proportion as its study is 
necessary for the prosecution of other branches of knowl- 
edge. This may be called its relative utility. In this latter 
point of view — that is, as relatively useful — I cannot at pres- 

(137) 



138 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



ent enter upon the value of philosophy ; I cannot attempt to 
show how it supplies the materials or rules to all the sciences, 
and how in particular its study is important to the lawyer, 
the physician, and, above all, to the theologian." 

He also says: "Now the various opinions which prevail 
concerning the comparative utility of human sciences and 
studies have all arisen from two errors. The first of these 
consists in viewing man, not as the end unto himself, but 
merely as a means organized for the sake of something out 
of himself; and under this partial view of human destina- 
tion those branches of knowledge obtain exclusively the 
name of useful which tend to qualify a human being to act 
the lowly part of a dexterous instrument. The second, and 
the more dangerous of these errors, consists in regarding 
the cultivation of the faculties as subordinate to the acquisi- 
tion of knowledge instead of regarding the possession of 
knowledge as subordinate to the cultivation of our faculties ; 
and in consequence of this error those sciences which afford 
a greater number of more certain facts have been deemed 
superior in utility to those which bestow a higher cultiva- 
tion on the higher faculties of the mind." 

This brings up the whole question of education. Its pur- 
pose is not simply to render man more skillful in the use of 
tools or to render him more valuable in the money market. 
Its purpose is not to make a living, but to make a man. 
Hence education is that process of development, physical, 
intellectual, and spiritual, which qualifies man in all his 
powers and faculties to realize the end of his creation. 

These studies would be incomplete without at least a 
glance into this field of Methodist literature. So here are a 
few nuggets which are gathered up and brought to the 
reader. 

Stephen Olin. 

Perhaps at the head of the list of Methodist metaphysicians 
should be placed the name of Stephen Olin. He has already 



METHODIST METAPHYSICIANS. 



come before us in these studies under the treatment of "Pul- 
pit Oratory," but he blended the orator and the metaphysi- 
cian so wonderfully and unusually that he deserves notice 
under this department as well. His mental power seemed 
almost invincible, and his literary appetite almost insatiable. 
While in college he not only carried on his regular studies, 
but literally devoured books on various subjects; but his 
favorite line of investigation was in the realm of meta- 
physics. 

He mastered Kant's "Critique of Pure Reason" and care- 
fully studied the various writings in this branch of study 
from Plato to the most recent German and French writers. 
He had in contemplation an extensive work on the history 
of philosophy, but failing health prevented its completion. 
By his peculiar mental constitution, by his method of intel- 
lectual activity, and by his universal information in this de- 
partment of thought he was perhaps the best-qualified man 
for such an achievement that Methodism had produced. 

Some insight into the working of his masterly mind may 
be gotten from a study of his series of lectures on "College 
Life: Its Theory and Practice." In the series there are 
seven lectures, as follows : Lecture I., "Importance of Under- 
standing the True Theory of Scholastic Life"; Lecture II., 
"Motives to the Prosecution of Liberal- Studies"; Lecture 
III., "Proper Incentives to High Intellectual Attainments" ; 
Lecture IV., "Development and Discipline of the Mental 
Faculties"; Lecture V., "The Best Means and Instruments 
of Mental Discipline" ; Lecture VI., "Offenses against Pro- 
priety and Good Taste" ; Lecture VII., "The Formation of 
Character in College. 

In the realization of the purpose for which the lectures 
were delivered the work is far superior to Hamerton's "The 
Intellectual Life," and as a book of inspiration to high ideals 
in college men it is perhaps without a peer. Here is an 
excerpt from the lecture on "Motives to the Prosecution of 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



Liberal Studies" : "It is of the highest import to the student 
who aspires to the highest mental development and culture 
that he put himself at the outset in communication with 
motives the most pure and elevating and such as are at the 
same time permanent in their operation. I have already vin- 
dicated his entire freedom of choice and his unrestricted 
power to place himself under such motive influence as his 
own judgment shall approve. In default, however, of this 
voluntary exercise of his own discretion he will find that 
surrounding circumstances or sheer accident have supplied 
the deficiency and that he has already in motion, though little 
suspecting, it may be, the agencies to which he is indebted 
for overcoming his tendencies to congenial repose." 

John J. Tigert. 

One of the most mysterious dispensations of Providence 
was that which removed from us in the very prime of his 
life the scholarly John J. Tigert. 

Among other valuable products of his pen may be men- 
tioned his "Handbook of Logic." In the Preface the author 
calls special attention to the following features : 

1. Many elementary writers on logic hasten forward to the expo- 
sition and, illustration of the syllogism as if it were the whole of 
logic. This handbook, it will be noticed, is specially full in the 
treatment of the concept and the judgment. Here it is important 
that the learner's knowledge should be exact, truly scientific, and 
measurably exhaustive; otherwise confusion will pervade the whole 
subject. 

2. The test of all knowledge is availability and use. 

3. This treatise probably presents a more complete account of 
recent logical investigations and advances than any other one book 
of an elementary character at least. 

4. It is thought that decided advantages will be discovered in the 
arrangement of the matter by those who have occasion to carefully 
analyze the contents of the schoolroom. 

Following are the divisions of the book : "General Ground 
Work"; L, "The Doctrine of Concepts"; II., "The Doctrine 



METHODIST METAPHYSICIANS. 



of Judgments"; III., "The Doctrine of Immediate Infer- 
ence"; IV., "The Doctrine of Mediate Inference; or, The 
Syllogism" ; V., "Induction and Method." 

Exercises. — The subject is too abstruse for elaborate 
treatment here. It is a profound treatise on a profoundly 
difficult topic. 

Thomas Randolph Mercein. 

Rev. Dr. Dewey, an eminent Unitarian clergyman, in ref- 
erence to the author under review, says : "I never knew a 
young man more fitted by natural endowments and spiritual 
gifts for the holy office he took upon him. He began to 
preach very young — at nineteen — and died at thirty-one. 
His remains rest in Sheffield and ought to have a monu- 
ment. Beautiful in person, simple in manners, strong in 
purpose, and indefatigable in labor, in him were combined 
manliness, earnestness, and delicacy, with great strength 
and beauty of intellect. His work on 'Natural Goodness' 
shows what he was. I do not agree with his conclusion ; but 
to the originality, insight, eloquence, and generosity of his 
writing no one can refuse his testimony." 

Mercein's "Natural Goodness" has been compared in log- 
ical ability to Butler's immortal "Analogy," to which, in 
many respects at least, it is not inferior. The full title will 
give some idea of the scope of the book. It is this : "Natural 
Goodness ; or, Honor to Whom Honor Is Due. Suggestions 
toward an Appreciative View of Moral Men, the Philosophy 
of the Present System of Morality, and the Relation of 
Natural Virtue to Religion." 

The book first appeared about fifty years ago, and when it 
was first published Dr. D. D. Whedon said of it in the 
Methodist Quarterly Review: "One of the finest essays that 
ever proceeded from a Methodist pen is young Randolph 
Mercein's book on 'Natural Goodness.' Our belief has ever 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



been that, had his life been spared to us, he would have been 
about the brightest star in our intellectual firmament." 

A recent issue of the book has been brought out which 
contains a strong commendatory introduction by Bishop W. 
A. Candler. The Bishop says : "During my first pastorate 
the venerable Lovick Pierce often warned me that 'the 
source of every serious error in theology will be found in 
false views of sin/ . . . This book is now republished 
with the desire and belief that it will contribute to the bring- 
ing back of this sense of sin and to the bringing on of the 
revival of evangelical religion for which so many devout 
souls are yearning and praying. It is commended especially 
to the ministers of all the evangelical Churches. May God 
bless it to the preachers of the present generation as he 
blessed it to the ministry of fifty years ago !" 

The author discusses the following themes in his book: 
I., "Injustice Done to Moral Men" ; IT., "The General Un- 
consciousness of Deep Guilt"; III., "The Temporal Re- 
wards of Morality"; IV., "The Comparative Rectitude of 
Human Conduct"; V., "The Natural Virtues"; VI., "The 
Relation of Morality to Religion"; VII., "The Religious 
Element in Human Nature"; VIII., "Religious Experience 
— Conviction"; IX., "Religious Experience — Repentance"; 
X., "Religious Experience — Faith"; XL, "Love to God the 
Criterion of Virtue"; XIL, "Injury Done to Religion by 
Moral Men." 

/. W. Mendenhall. 

Perhaps the most elaborate work in this field of Meth- 
odist literature that has appeared, at least in recent years, is 
Dr. J. W. Mendenhall's "Plato and Paul ; or, Philosophy and 
Christianity." It is a book of over seven hundred pages and 
presents abundant evidence not only of superb scholarly at- 
tainments but of heroic labor as well. The work consists of 
"an examination of the two fundamental forces of cosmic 



METHODIST METAPHYSICIANS. 



and human history, with their contents, methods, functions, 
relations, and results compared." 

Some idea of the author's purpose may be obtained from 
the following from the Introduction : 

Evidently enfeebled as philosophy is by its necessary and consti- 
tutional methods, it may surprise the reader to be informed that the 
author's aim is in part to establish that Christianity may be amply 
justified by the philosophical method, and that its philosophical basis 
is as impregnable as the more common historical basis on which it 
supposedly and safely rests. It is altogether probable, therefore, that 
it will be inferred that if the philosophical method is insufficient for 
philosophical purposes it must also be inadequate in the hands of the 
Christian investigator for his purposes. Christianity has its theo- 
logical argument — an argument strong, robust, granitic; its argu- 
ment from experience the more decisive because the more philo- 
sophical; its argument from history a running fire burning up the 
wild guesses of materialism in its path and illuminating the heavens 
as it spreads over the earth; its latest work the best because the 
most distinctive and the most complete. While the theological, the 
experimental, and the historical arguments are involved in one an- 
other and constitute an all-sufficient defense of religious truth, the 
philosophical argument for Christianity is as important as these and 
as unanswerable, because Christianity is true philosophy or the phi- 
losophy of truth in a religious form. To meet the demands of the 
present day, this argument is emphasized in this volume more than 
any other, being rendered in such form as to make Christianity ap- 
pear quite as much a philosophy as a religion or that the two are 
inseparable in Christianity. On this basis — <the scientific complexion 
of the highest religion — we hold that Christianity may successfully 
assail the naive materialism and popular agnosticism of the times. 
The conflict now raging is not so much a conflict between Chris- 
tianity and another phase of religion as it is a conflict between 
Christianity and some form of philosophy. 

While the book is profoundly philosophical, it is at the 
same time remarkably clear and at times charming in style. 
There are thirty-five chapters in the book, and among the 
headings to the chapters may be mentioned the following: 
"Plato," "The Corner Stone of Philosophy," "The Ground 
of Life," "The Area of Human Knowledge," "The Religious 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



Concept," "The Apostle Paul," "Christianity the Key to the 
Phenomenal World," and "Present Tasks of Christianity." 

There remains space for only a brief quotation. Here it 
is : 

Christianity is truth. Its mission is the propagation of truth, its 
inspiration is the inspiration of truth, its success is the success of 
truth. Let error tear down, the truth must build up; let the one 
agnosticize the world, the other must illumine it; let the one mate- 
rialize the thought of men, the other must spiritualize it; let the 
one drive the world into Plato's cave, the other must draw all men 
into Christ's kingdom; let the one actualize an anarchy of letters, 
the other must establish a republic of immortal truths. 

H. H. Moore. 

The title-page of Dr. Moore's interesting book bears these 
words : "The Anatomy of Atheism as Demonstrated in the 
Light of the Constitution and Laws of Nature." The reader 
can readily see what a task the bold writer has mapped out 
for himself. Here is what the author says about it : 

Infidel arguments, it matters not how old they may be, if pre- 
sented in a new dress, should receive such attention as the spirit of 
the times demands. The task we undertook to perform was some- 
what difficult. It was important that we keep in sight of the game 
we were pursuing or at least keep on its sinuous and meandering 
track, and at the same time put in logical order a thread of argu- 
ment for the defense of the faith of our fathers. Could we have 
found in our library even the main reasons for accepting Christ as 
our Messiah here spread before the reader, this volume would not 
have appeared. We have kept constantly before us the average 
reader who would likely be interested in such subjects and have 
written for the express purpose of giving him some assistance in 
his troubles. 

Dr. Moore is an adept in the use of the surgeon's knife, 
and in this volume he lays bare the whole anatomy of athe- 
ism. One slash of his knife reveals this : 

We are therefore led to conclude that atheism more than any 
other form of unbelief has a subjective origin; that is a device 



METHODIST METAPHYSICIANS. 



invented by the mind to close up a conscious vacuum that is there. 
It is humanity giving the lie to itself, wriggling to become what it 
was not intended to be, and in this way it affords proof of a dis- 
eased or deranged nature. It is an attempt to suppress or to smoth- 
er out of existence, or at least render inactive, the powers of the mind 
which with great force have led all races of the human family de- 
voutly to recognize a Supreme Being. All idea of responsibility for 
the secret thoughts and purposes of the mind can be got rid of only 
as the existence of a God is denied. And success in this undertak- 
ing, were it possible, would react in the greatest moral calamity that 
could come upon us. Atheism leaves the inward man a desolation, 
solitary and alone. It renders impossible all conceptions of holiness 
which is free from the taint of impurity. 

Borden P. Bourne. 

One of the strongest and most prolific writers in this de- 
partment of Methodist literature was the late Dr. Borden P. 
Eowne. The limits of this study will admit of only slight 
mention of him and his work. The following are his pub- 
lished works: "The Atonement/' "Christian Life," "Chris- 
tian Revelation," "Ethical Legislation by the Church," "In- 
troduction to Psychology," "Metaphysics," "Philosophy of 
Spencer," "Philosophy of Theism," "Principles of Ethics," 
"Studies in Theism," "Theory of Thought," and various 
magazine articles. In Professor Bowne the highest type of 
scholarship and clear Christian experience seem to have been 
beautifully blended. In the last address he ever delivered, 
which was made before a body of ministers, he said : "We 
are going to be through with this life before very long. The 
longest life is short when it is over; any time is short when 
it is done. The gates of time will swing to behind you before 
long ; they will swing to behind some of us soon, but behind 
all of us before long. And then the important thing will not 
be what appointments we had or what rank in the Confer- 
ence or anything of that sort ; not what men thought of us, 
but what He thought of us and whether we were built into 
His kingdom. And if at the end of it all we emerge from 
10 



I 4 6 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



life's work and discipline crowned souls, at home anywhere 
in God's universe, life will have been a success." 

Eugene Russell Hendrix. 

Bishop Eugene R. Hendrix delivered "The Quillian Lec- 
tures" for 1903 at Emory College. He chose as his subject 
"The Personality of the Holy Spirit." The course consisted 
of five lectures, and the subtopics were the following: L, 
"The Power of Personality" ; II., "The Personality of the 
Holy Spirit" ; III., "The Holy Spirit the Author of Sacred 
Letters" ; IV., "The Spirit the Executive of the Godhead" ; 
V., "The Deity of the Holy Spirit." The lecture on "The 
Power of Personality" is a masterpiece. 

This study must not close without mention of Smith's 
"Elements of Mental Science," also Clark's "Mental Dis- 
cipline." 

With some latitude in application Bishop Bascom's "Lec- 
tures" could be classified here. 

"Theism : A Survey of the Paths That Lead to God," by 
the late Bishop John J. Tigert, is a work of considerable 
merit. 

Questions. 

1. What does "metaphysics" mean? 

2. What two values has every branch of knowledge? 

3. From what two errors have the various opinions concerning the 
comparative utility of human sciences arisen? 

4. Who heads the list of Methodist metaphysicians? 

5. Where may we find illustrations of the workings of his masterly 
mind ? 

6. Of what great scholar was the Church deprived by a mysterious 
providence? 

7. To what four features does Tigert call attention in his work 
on logic ? 

8. What of Thomas Randolph Mercein ? 

9. What great book was written by Dr. J. W. Mendenhall? 

10. What metaphysical book by Bishop Hendrix? 



METHODIST METAPHYSICIANS. 



Bibliography. 

Olin's "Lectures/' 
Tigert's "Logic." 
Mercein's "Natural Goodness." 
Mendenhall's "Plato and Paul." 
Moore's "Anatomy of Atheism." 
Bowne's "Works." 
Hendrix's "Lectures." 
Bascom's "Lectures." 



CHAPTER XL 
The Journal of Francis Asbury. 



CHAPTER XL 

The Journal of Francis Asbury. 

In the brilliant galaxy of heroic Methodist itinerants there 
is not one more worthy of our admiration and emulation 
than Francis Asbury. He was born in Handsworth, Staf- 
fordshire, England, August 20, 1745, and had the great 
fortune of being trained by pious parents who were mem- 
bers of the Methodist Society. At an early age he was 
placed in a good school, and at the age of six he began to 
read the Bible regularly, with the historical parts of which 
he says he was greatly delighted. At the age of fourteen 
years he was apprenticed to learn the business of making 
"buckle shapes." While serving this apprenticeship he was 
permitted to hear such preachers as Ryland, Stillingfleet, 
Talbott, Hawes, and Venn, who were among the distin- 
guished men of the English pulpit. When about fourteen 
years old he was converted and began a course in theo- 
logical studies which he pursued during his leisure hours. 
When sixteen years old he began the exercise of his gifts 
by holding prayer services in his native village and other 
places, and at eighteen he was licensed to preach. The 
fervency and eloquence of his preaching attracted old and 
young, and multitudes gladly heard him. Besides attending 
to his ordinary duties during the week, he preached not only 
on Sundays but frequently three or four times in between, 
until his reception into the Conference of the Wesleyan 
Church at the age of twenty-one. 

From the very beginning Mr. Asbury was noted for his 
strict devotion to the ministry and the faithful discharge of 
all the duties connected with this holy work. He determined 
to become thoroughly familiar with all the doctrines of the 
Church to which he had devoted his life, and with his en- 
larged knowledge came warmer admiration and adherence. 
In the year 1 77 1 he became thoroughly convinced of a di- 

(151) 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



vine call to be a missionary to America, to which country 
Mr. Wesley had sent two ministers two years before. At 
the Conference of this year Mr. Wesley called for volun- 
teers, and Mr. Asbury offered his services. 

Having been accepted, he sailed from Bristol in company 
with Richard Wright, a minister of one year's standing, on 
the 4th of September and arrived at Philadelphia on the 27th 
of October. During the voyage, which was a long and dis- 
agreeable one, he divided his time between reading theologi- 
cal books and conversing with the sailors and his fellow 
passengers. 

After the Revolutionary War broke out, Mr. Rankin and 
nearly all those who had come from England left their work 
here and returned to ther old home. On the other hand, 
Mr. Asbury had become very much attached to the interests 
of the Western Continent and deeply sympathized with the 
people. He felt that it would be wrong to leave the people 
here who had put themselves under the care of Methodist 
preachers, and, having confidence in the cause for which the 
colonists were struggling, he was unwilling to go away. 

The close of the Revolutionary War brought a crisis in 
the Wesleyan movement in this country. The Societies de- 
sired the administration of the sacraments. Hitherto they 
had been regarded as affiliating with the Church of England. 
Their preachers had been regarded as laymen, while the 
people had received baptism and the Lord's Supper at the 
parish churches. But during the war the clergymen of the 
Church of England generally fled from the country, the 
churches were unoccupied, and there were none to adminis- 
ter the sacraments. Some of the Wesleyan preachers wanted 
to elect and ordain men of their own number for this pur- 
pose, but Mr. Asbury stoutly resisted this until Mr. Wesley 
could be heard from. The matter was laid before Mr. Wes- 
ley, who, after due deliberation upon the precarious situa- 
tion, decided to take the necessary steps for the organization 



THE JOURNAL OF FRANCIS ASBURY. 



of the American Societies into a separate Church. Accord- 
ingly, with the assistance of several clergymen in England, 
he set apart Dr. Coke for the office of superintendent, or- 
daining him according to the form for the ordination of 
bishops in the Church of England. He also ordained two 
elders, sending them with Dr. Coke to America with direc- 
tions to ordain Mr. Asbury as joint superintendent, or 
bishop. 

A Conference was convened in Baltimore on Christmas, 
1784, a Church was organized which, by the unanimous con- 
sent of the preachers present, was called "The Methodist 
Episcopal Church," and Dr. Coke and Mr. Asbury were 
elected superintendents, or bishops. Mr. Asbury was or- 
dained by Dr. Coke, assisted by Rev. Messrs. Whatcoat and 
Vasey, who had been ordained in England. 

From that time forward the life of Bishop Asbury was 
one of constant activities and ever-increasing care. His 
travels extended from Maine to Georgia, and, crossing the 
mountains, he kept up with the tide of population flowing 
westward and southward. 

Bishop Asbury was a man of deep thought and wise con- 
clusions. He had unusual power of insight into human char- 
acter. He was a man of uniform piety and powerful con- 
victions. When convinced of duty, no perils, however great, 
could divert him from his purpose. In passing through the 
Indian country west of the mountains he often camped in 
the wilderness, where no one ventured to sleep except under 
the protection of a trustworthy sentinel. He manifested a 
zeal apostolic in nature and an industry and patience almost 
unrivaled. Though a constant traveler, he read most of the 
valuable books of the day. He had a fair knowledge of the 
original tongues of the Scriptures, and was a remarkably 
sound and accurate theologian. As a preacher he was clear, 
forceful, and earnest ; as an executive officer he possessed 
exceptional powers. 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



His Journal contains the outline of his wonderful record. 
To that let us now turn our attention. In the Preface to the 
first number of the second volume of his Journal, published 
during his lifetime, Mr. Asbury says : 

In the month of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand 
seven hundred and seventy-one, I embarked in England for Amer- 
ica, at which time the memoirs I have written of my life commenced. 
As I considered my station on the American Continent in the order 
of Divine Providence as a station in which I should frequently be 
exposed to censure and jealousy, I thought it highly expedient for 
my own satisfaction and the confirmation of my friends to keep an 
impartial diary of my intentions, resolutions, and actions as a Chris- 
tian and minister, that I might have through this medium a con- 
stant and reasonable answer for mine accusers. From the nature 
and design of the work it must have in it many things both unpleas- 
ing and uninteresting to curious and critical readers, and perhaps 
some things exceptional even to those who enter into its spirit and 
read it with affection. 

From the very beginning of his ministry Mr. Asbury seems 
to have been plastic to the impressions of the Holy Spirit 
and ready to obey the orders of Heaven as indicated in 
providential leadings. In the very first paragraph of the 
Journal we get a glimpse into the inner spirit of the man : 

On the 7th of August, 1771, the Conference began at Bristol, in 
England. Before this I had felt for half a year strong intimations 
in my mind that I should visit America, which I laid before the 
Lord, being unwilling to do my own will or to run before I was 
sent. During this time my trials were very great, which the Lord, 
I believe, permitted to prove and try me in order to prepare me for 
future usefulness. At the Conference it was proposed that some 
preachers should go over to the American Continent. I spoke my 
mind and made an offer of myself. I was accepted by Mr. Wesley 
and others who judged I had a call. From Bristol I went home to 
acquaint my parents with my great undertaking, which I opened in 
as gentle a manner as possible. Though it was grievous to flesh and 
blood, they consented to let me go. My mother is one of the ten- 
derest parents in the world, but I believe she was blessed in the 
present instance with divine assistance to part with me. I visited 
most of my friends in Staffordshire, Warwickshire, and Gloucester- 



THE JOURNAL OF FRANCIS ASBURY. 



shire and felt much life and power among them. Several of our 
meetings were indeed held in the spirit and life of God. Many of 
my friends were struck with wonder when they heard of my going; 
but none opened their mouths against it, hoping that it was of God. 
Some wished that their situation would allow them to go with me. 

Mr. Asbury evidently examined into the motives actuating 
him in his new enterprise, as the following entry will show : 

Thursday, 12th. — I will set down a few things that lie on my 
mind. Whither am I going? To the New World. What to do? 
To gain honor? No, if I know my heart. To get money? No; I 
am going to live for God and to bring others to do so. In America 
there has been a work of God, some moving first among the Friends, 
but in time it declined; likewise by the Presbyterians, but amongst 
them also it declined. The people God owns in England are the 
Methodists. The doctrines they preach and the discipline they en- 
force are, I believe, the purest of any people now in the world. The 
Lord has greatly blessed these doctrines and this discipline in three 
kingdoms; they must therefore be pleasing to him. If God does 
not acknowledge me in America, I will soon return to England. I 
know my views are upright now. May they never be otherwise ! 

Some things were at the beginning of his ministry fixed 
once for all. Listen : 

Thursday, 22d. — At present I am dissatisfied. I judge we are to 
be shut up in the cities this winter. My brethren seem unwilling to 
leave the cities, but I think I shall show them the way. I am in 
trouble, and more trouble is at hand, for I am determined to make 
a stand against all partiality. I have nothing to seek but the glory 
of God, nothing to fear but his displeasure. I am come over with 
an upright intention, and through the grace of God I will make it 
appear. I am determined that no man shall bias me with soft words 
and fair speeches; nor will I ever fear (the Lord helping me) the 
face of man or know any man after the flesh, if I beg my bread 
from door to door; but whomsoever I please or displease, I will 
be faithful to God, to the people, and to my own soul. 

So the disposition "to remain in the cities" is nothing new 
under the sun. We see that even in Mr. Asbury's time there 
were brethren who were willing to be "sacrificed" on the 
altar of a city pastorate ! This desire to be in the cities 



156 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 

must have distressed him very much, for an January 1, 1772, 
we find him saying: "I find that the preachers have their 
friends in the cities and care not to leave them. There is 
a strange party spirit. For my part, I desire to be faithful 
to God and man. On Thursday evening I preached my last 
sermon for a time on 1 Thessalonians v. 6 : 'Let us not sleep 
as do others, but let us watch and be sober.' " 

What better plan can be adopted by any man in the midst 
of the difficulties and discouragements of life than that ex- 
pressed in this entry? 

Lord's Day, 21st. — Preached morning and evening with some life, 
but found that offenses increased. However, I cannot help it. My 
way is to go straight forward and aim at what is right. 

St. Paul, in writing to the Corinthians, said : "For a great 
door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many 
adversaries." Increased opportunity invariably brings in- 
creased antagonism. Enlarged territory brings an increase 
in the inimical population to be exterminated. The doors 
of usefulness and service that open to us usher us into the 
presence of antagonistic and bitter forces. Oftentimes our 
opportunities are measured by our oppositions. 

Bishop Asbury's method of sermonizing may be gathered 
from an entry in the Journal under date of Tuesday, Decem- 
ber 23, 1771 : 

I preached from Acts xx. 28: "Take heed therefore unto your- 
selves," etc. After showing to whom the charge was given, I pro- 
ceeded to enforce the subject thus: I. Take heed to your spirits. 
II. Take heed to your practice. III. Take heed to your doctrine. 
IV. Take heed to the flock. 1. Those that are under deep convic- 
tion. 2. Those that are true believers. 3. Those that are sorely 
tempted. 4. Those that are groaning for full redemption. 5. Those 
that have backslidden. I then urged the motives to this duty. 

Also under date of Monday, May 24, we find the follow- 
ing: 



THE JOURNAL OF FRANCIS AS BURY. 



Sweet peace pervaded my soul, and my whole heart desired, 
prayed, longed, and panted to live a more spiritual life by faith in 
the blessed Son of God. In the evening I preached from Isaiah lxii. 
6, "I have set watchmen," etc., and took occasion, first, to show that 
the Lord calls, authorizes, and qualifies all faithful ministers; sec- 
ondly, delineated their character as watchmen ; thirdly, observed that 
they were to keep watch on the walls; fourthly, the duties enjoined, 
"They shall not hold their peace," "Keep not silent." While open- 
ing this passage the Lord greatly comforted my soul. The next 
morning I expatiated on Canticles i. 7 and considered, first, the 
address: 'Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth." Secondly, the 
request: "Where thou feedest." This denotes the desire of a true 
believer in the time of division or persecution or general declension 
of piety. Thirdly, the humble query: "Why should I be as one that 
turneth aside by the flocks of thy companions?" This indicates a 
fear of being exposed to false teachers, who name the name of 
Christ but deny him in experience, doctrine, and practice. How 
fearful is a pious soul of turning aside as a forlorn, neglected crea- 
ture, exposed to the malice and designs of devils and ungodly men! 
Glory to God! Notwithstanding all the assaults of Satan, my soul 
is preserved in peace and my heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. 
My chief desire is to be found obedient and faithful at all times and 
on all occasions. 

He had a passion for service. Note the following : 

Saturday, 15th. — My body is still weak, though on the recovery. 
Lord, if thou shouldest be pleased to raise me up, let it be to do 
more good. I desire to live only for this. Lord, I am thine to 
serve thee forever with soul and body, time and talents. O my God ! 
Now all I am and have is devoted to thee. Mercifully assist me 
by thy grace to persevere in all well-doing. Amen. 

And this : 

Lord's Day, 15th. — About to take my leave for a season, I went 
to the point and enlarged on these words, "I am afraid of you, lest 
I have bestowed upon you labor in vain," and trust that some at least 
felt the worth and weight of divine truths. My subject at night in 
town was this : "I take you to record this day, that I am pure from 
the blood of all men." In preaching from these words my mind 
was under some embarrassment. Perhaps my foolish heart desired 
to end with honor, and the Lord in mercy prevented it. May I ever 
be contented with that honor which cometh from God only ! 



158 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



Under date of July 24, 1774, Bishop Asbury makes an 
entry in his Journal which gives us an insight into his early 
religious experience which cannot be omitted from this 
study : 

Ended the parable of the prodigal son. Does it not appear from 
this parable that some who, comparatively speaking, have all their 
lifetime endeavored to please God and are entitled to all his pur- 
chased, communicative blessings are, nevertheless, not favored with 
such rapturous sensations of divine joy as some others? 

I remember that when I was a small boy and went to school I had 
serious thoughts and a particular sense of being of God and greatly 
feared an oath and a lie. At twelve years of age the Spirit of God 
strove frequently and powerfully with me; but being deprived of 
proper means and exposed to bad company, no effectual impressions 
were left on my hand. And though fond of what some call inno- 
cent diversions, I abhorred fighting and quarreling. When anything 
of this sort happened, I always went home displeased. But I have 
been much grieved to think that so many Sabbaths were idly spent 
which might have been better improved. However, wicked as my 
companions were and fond as I was of play, I never imbibed their 
vices. When between thirteen and fourteen years of age the Lord 
graciously visited my soul again. I then found myself more inclined 
to obey, and carefully attended preaching in West Bromwick. So 
I heard Stillingfleet, Bagnel, Ryland, Anderson, Mannsfield, and 
Talbott, men who preached the truth. I then began to watch over 
my inward and outward conduct. Having a desire to hear the 
Methodists, I went Wednesday and heard Mr. F. and Mr. I.; but 
I didn't understand them, though one of their subjects is fresh in 
my memory to this day. This was the first of my hearing the 
Methodists. After that another person went with me to hear them 
again. The text was : "The time will come when they will not en- 
dure sound doctrine." My companion was cut to the heart, but I 
was unmoved. The next year Mr. M. came into those parts. I was 
then about fifteen. Young as I was, the Spirit of God soon made 
deep impressions on my heart, which brought me to Jesus Christ, 
who graciously justified my guilty soul through faith in his precious 
blood and soon showed me the excellency and necessity of holiness. 

When about sixteen I experienced a marvelous display of the 
grace of God, which some might think was full sanctification, and 
was indeed very happy, though in an ungodly family. At about 
seventeen I began to hold some public meetings, and between seven- 



THE JOURNAL OF FRANCIS ASBURY. 



teen and eighteen began to exhort and preach. When about twenty- 
one I went through Staffordshire and Gloucestershire in the place 
of a traveling preacher, and the next year through Bedfordshire, 
Sussex, etc. In 1769 I was appointed assistant in Northampton- 
shire, and the next year traveled in Wiltshire. On September 13, 
1771, I embarked for America, and for my own private satisfatcion 
began to keep an imperfect journal. 

He had a deep conviction of the necessity of spiritual re- 
ligion and of the peril of mere profession. 

Wednesday, 10th. — My frame is much afflicted. But it is worse 
to be afflicted in mind by the misconduct of professors. It grieves 
me much to see the deceit of a few persons who have crept in 
amongst us. It is a thousand pities that such whose hearts are not 
right with God should ever thrust themselves in amongst the people 
of God. They are too apt to make all they are connected with as a 
rope of sand. I clearly see that professors who are rotten at heart 
are a hindrance and a curse to the rest. May the Lord thoroughly 
purge his floor ! I was very low, but met my class and preached in 
the evening. There appeared to be but little depth of religion in 
the class. It is a great folly to take people into society before they 
know what they are about. What some people take for religion and 
spiritual life is nothing but the power of the natural passions. It 
is true that real religion cannot exist without peace and love and 
joy. But, then, real religion is real holiness, and all sensations 
without a strong disposition for holiness are but delusive. 

Even a bishop can forget his sermon. Read this : 

Lord's Day, 18th. — Losing some of my ideas in preaching, I was 
ashamed of myself and pained to see the people waiting to hear 
what the blunderer had to say. May these things humble me and 
show me where my great strength lieth ! 

How comforting to lesser lights ! 

Asbury's perpetual and consuming passion was for spirit- 
uality. Hear him : 

Monday, 26th. — My soul is sweetly drawn out after God and satis- 
fied with him as a sufficient portion. But O how I long to be more 
spiritual ! 



l6o STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



''Come and possess me whole, 
Nor hence again remove; 
Settle and fix my wav'ring soul 
With all thy weight of love." 

And again: 

Lord's Day, 30th. — I kept closed house till evening, and O what 
happiness my soul enjoyed with God! So open and delightful was 
the intercourse between God and my soul that it gave me grief if 
any person came into my room to disturb my sweet communion 
with the blessed Father and the Son. When my work is done, may 
I enter into the fullness of the joy which shall never be interrupted 
in the blissful realms above ! 

And still another: 

Thursday, 16th. — My mind has been kept in great peace, but I 
am somewhat troubled on account of my defects in usefulness and 
spirituality. May the Lord make me more serious and more spiritual 
in all my internal and external actions ! And though my mind was 
much taken up with God on Friday, yet I was too free in conversa- 
tion. My earnest desire is to have full power over every thought, 
word, and action. 

The good Bishop ever had a keen sense of the danger of 
sin. 

Friday, June 2. — The Lord is pleased to show me the danger 
which a preacher is in of being lifted up by pride and falling into 
the condemnation of the devil. How great is the danger of this ! 
A considerable degree of ballast is necessary to bear frequent and 
sudden puffs of applause. Lord, fill me with genuine humility, that 
the strongest gusts from Satan or the world may never move me. 

Here is a New-Year resolution: 

Monday, January 1, 1776. — I am entering on a new year and am 
of late constantly happy, feeling my heart much taken up with God, 
and hope thus to live and thus to die. Or if there should be any 
alteration, may it be for the better and not for the worse ! 

"My residue of days or hours 
Thine, wholly thine, shall be, 
And all my consecrated powers 
A sacrifice to thee, 



THE JOURNAL OF FRANCIS ASBURY. 



161 



Till Jesus in the clouds appear 

To saints on earth forgiven, 
And bring the great Sabbatic year, 

The. jubilee of heaven." 

And here is a scene from the sunset : 

Sabbath, 21st. — I ordained the deacons and preached a sermon in 
which Dr. Coke was remembered. My eyes fail. I will resign the 
stations to Bishop McKendree. I will take away my feet. It is my 
fifty-fifth year of ministry and forty-fifth year of labor in America. 
My mind enjoys great peace and divine consolation. My health is 
better, which may in part be because of my being less deeply inter- 
ested in the business of the Conferences. But whether health, life, 
or death, good is the will of the Lord. I will trust him; yea, and 
will praise him. He is the strength of my heart and my portion 
forever. Glory ! glory ! glory ! 

Questions. 

1. Who is the most eminent figure in American Methodism? 

2. What characterized Mr. Asbury from the very beginning of his 
ministry? 

3. What crisis in American Methodism followed the close of the 
Revolutionary War? 

4. When and where was the Christmas Conference held ? 

5. What of the personal character of Bishop Asbury ? 

6. What motive actuated Asbury in his coming to America? 

7. Upon what was he determined from the very beginning? 

8. What was his usual method in the face of difficulties ? 

9. What evidence of deep spirituality? 

10. What evidence that he had a passion for service ? 

Bibliography. 

Asbury's "Journal." 
Smith's "Life of Francis Asbury." 
Strickland's "Life of Asbury." 
II 



CHAPTER XII. 
Miscellaneous Writings. 



CHAPTER XII. 



Miscellaneous Writings. 

The little excursions into the field of Methodist litera- 
ture, made at spare moments snatched from a busy pas- 
torate, have been personally charming and inspiring. In 
fact, the work has amounted to a fascination. But the most 
enticing enterprise must have a conclusion. There are many 
books, however, that could not properly be brought under 
any of the previous classifications, but which, nevertheless, 
are most eminently worths of our study. 

Books of Travel. 

Stephen OUn's "Travels." — This remarkable man has come 
before us in previous studies — in the study of "Methodist 
Oratory" and the one on "Methodist Metaphysicians." Now 
he is before us in another aspect. But Stephen Olin was one 
of the most remarkable men ever produced by our Church. 
While connected with Randolph-Macon the health of Dr. 
Olin became impaired and he sought restoration by a trip to 
Europe. As a result of his trip we have his "Travels," a 
most charming work. The following from a discriminating 
notice in one of the periodicals of the day when the work 
appeared indicates the excellencies of the production : 

We are glad to see a third edition of this valuable work an- 
nounced. We formed a high estimate of it upon its first appear- 
ance, and are happy to find our judgment confirmed by its extensive 
sale. In many respects it is the best book for general readers that 
has yet appeared in regard to the countries of which it treats. This- 
is eminently true of Dr. Olin's account of Egypt. He certainly 
occupied his time to the best advantage on the Nile ; and he has not 
only given a very clear account of the remains of antiquity which 
line the banks of that river, but has also brought an account of 
information in regard to the policy of Mohammed Ali and the pres- 

(165) 



166 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



ent condition of the country that can be found in no single treatise 
that we know of in the language. His account of Petra, too, is su- 
perior to any work that is accessible to common readers. Laborde's 
elaborate book has not been republished in this country. Mr. Ste- 
phen's graphic narration does not profess to give any accurate details. 
Dr. Robinson was very industrious during his visit to Petra, and has 
recorded what he saw with his usual fidelity. But his stay was too 
short to allow of any extensive observations. Dr. Olin remained 
three days without any molestation, and he has recorded the results 
of his investigation with great perspicuity. We have followed him, 
indeed, throughout his tour with wonder at the activity and zeal 
with which, invalid as he is, he prosecuted his researches. Few 
men could see so much in the same time, and fewer still could 
describe it so well. 

Marvin's "To the East by Way of the West." — The Gen- 
eral Conference of 1874 requested that one of the bishops 
visit China in the interest of our missionary work there. 
Eishop Marvin was selected for this important task. Dr. 
Thomas O. Summers was then President of our Board of 
Missions and heartily approved of the suggestion that the 
good Bishop extend his visit in the East, visit the various 
missionary societies in other parts of the world, and attend 
the session of the British Conference in order to represent 
the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, before that ven- 
erable body. In accordance with the request of Dr. Sum- 
mers, Bishop Marvin furnished a letter every week of his 
travels, which appeared regularly in the successive issues 
of the Christian Advocate (Nashville). Bishop Marvin's 
unusually clear perception, sound judgment, poetic and 
imaginative powers, great energy, and invincible zeal for 
the cause of Christ enabled him to produce a really remarka- 
ble book. In the Introduction Dr. Summers says : 

The benefit conferred upon the Church by this missionary tour, 
thus faithfully and picturesquely reported, is incalculable. It has 
made the pulse of the Church beat higher. It has enlarged our view 
of the mission field and suggested plans for its cultivation. It has 
greatly strengthened the hands and comforted the hearts of our 



MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS. 



little band of missionaries in China and those of other Churches in 
the lands visited by him, and the publication of his letters will do 
much to fan the flame of missionary zeal in the widespread connec- 
tion of which he was so bright an ornament and in which he labored 
with so much zeal and success. 

In one of the letters written from China Bishop Marvin 
says : 

For myself, I believe I never felt the grandeur of the kingdom of 
God so fully before. It is just now collecting its energies for the 
final campaign in the conquest of the world. The advance lines of 
the all-conquering host fronts the enemy where he is massed in his 
greatest strength and entrenched in his most formidable defenses. 
The powers of darkness are enthroned ; but the God of light already 
advances upon them, and they begin to be aware of the glory of his 
approach. No human destiny can be greater than that of participat- 
ing in the labors and dangers of the deepening combat. It may 
involve martyrdom — I doubt not it will — but that blood which is shed 
for Christ is most precious in his sight. O Son of God, is it not a 
joy to die for thee? 

Galloway's "A Circuit of the Globe" — In a brief introduc- 
tory note to this book a writer who attaches the initial "E." 
says : 

Some books need an introduction, and some do not. This one 
belongs to the latter class. On its own merits it is sure to have a 
wide circulation. The letters of which it is substantially made up 
were written by Bishop Galloway to the Christian Advocate during 
his recent journey around the world, and they were hailed with 
delight by thousands of readers. No worthier series of communi- 
cations has ever occurred in the columns of that paper. How my 
good friend managed to keep up so high a level of thought and 
style amid all the difficulties and dissipations of almost incessant 
traveling is a marvel to me. For fullness, for accuracy, for vivacity, 
he has few equals. I do not know half a dozen men who are so 
entertaining as he is with both pen and tongue. The demand for the 
publication of his letters in book form is widespread and earnest. 
I feel sure that the volume will have a great run. While it cannot 
fail to be stimulating and instructive in many ways, it will especially 
aid in developing an increased interest in the great cause of Chris- 
tan missions. 



168 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



Here is the closing paragraph of this delightful book : 

I am profoundly grateful for the care of a gracious Providence 
who has preserved me from danger and death through more than 
thirty thousand miles of journeying by land and sea. I return from 
my circuit of the globe with a stronger faith in the all-conquering 
gospel, with brighter hopes for the extension of our Lord's kingdom 
in all the world, with a higher appreciation of the missionaries who 
have devoted their lives to the uplifting of the nations, and with a 
larger love for true Christians of every name and creed. May our 
Lord speed the glorious morning when we shall all be one as he and 
the Father are one ! 

"Travels in Three Continents" is a most readable work by 
Rev. Dr. James M. Buckley and consists of the author's 
graphic narrative of his travels in Europe, Africa, and Asia. 

"Etchings of the East" is a delightful book by Rev. Dr. 
John M. Moore and consists of the series of letters written 
by him during his visit to the Orient. 

Books of Controversy. 
Fletcher's "Appeal." — When the Countess of Huntington 
established her theological seminary at Trevecca, in Wales, 
for the purpose of training pious young men for the minis- 
try, Mr. Fletcher was called to the presidency of the in- 
stitution; and upon the recommendation of Mr. Wesley, 
Rev. Joseph Benson was elected second master. As might 
be expected, these men gave precedence to spiritual rather 
than philosophical or theological instruction. At length 
religious dissensions began to be fostered among the patrons 
of the school. 

The Countess was a Methodist of the Whitefield school 
and believed in predestination. Her chaplain, the Rev. Mr. 
Shirley, her own brother, was an ardent predestinarian. 
About this time there was much controversy between the 
Calvinists and the Arminians. Mr. Fletcher and Mr. Ben- 
son were advisers of Wesley's course against the Calvinists. 
Accordingly Mr. Benson was soon dismissed from the 



MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS. 



169 



seminary for refusing to indorse Calvinism, and Mr. Fletch- 
er's resignation as President immediately followed. 

Lady Huntington's chaplain and brother took offense at 
the Wesleyan "Minutes of Conference" and issued a "Circu- 
lar Letter" to the evangelical clergymen of England, pro- 
testing against the doctrines of Arminianism and inviting 
the clergymen to attend in a body the Wesleyan Conference 
and demand a renunciation of the offensive tenets. They 
were refused an audience by Mr. Wesley unless they came 
as friends and not as belligerents. 

The occasion, however, called out a new element of Mr. 
Fletcher's character. Hitherto he had been known as the 
pious and earnest pastor or the scholarly and dignified presi- 
dent of the seminary. He now comes out as a polemic. As 
soon as he received Mr. Shirley's "Circular Letter" he be- 
gan to prepare his "Checks to Antinomianism," a work 
which reflected great credit upon the head and the heart of 
the writer. In speaking of the book Mr. Wesley says: 
"How much good has been accomplished by the publication 
of that 'Circular Letter'! This was the happy occasion of 
Mr. Fletcher's writing those 'Checks to Antinomianism/ in 
which one knows not which to admire most, the purity of 
the language (such as scarce any foreigner ever wrote be- 
fore), the strength and clearness of the argument, or the 
mildness and sweetness of the spirit that breathes throughout 
the whole." 

Foster's "Objections to Calvinism" — In the earlier days of 
Methodism the battle royal was the conflict between Armin- 
ianism and Calvinism. The itinerants were too busy preach- 
ing the doctrines to have any time for writing. But occa- 
sionally some one snatched time enough from pressing duties 
to put his convictions in literary form. A very popular 
production appearing about the middle of the last century, 
and which had quite a large sale, was Foster's "Objections 
to Calvinism." In the first chapter the author says : 



STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 



This book is a creature of circumstance. It had never existed 
but for reasons over which the author himself had no control. He 
wrote because it seemed necessary to write, not because he had any 
ambition for authorship. He made a book, not with "intention 
aforethought," but almost before he was aware of it and without 
any pretense whatever. The Church of which he is a humble and 
obscure minister had been long and grievously assailed by the prin- 
cipal organ of a sister denomination — her doctrines and usages held 
up to public odium as perverted by the pen of misrepresentation, 
her influence for piety questioned, and whatever was peculiar to her 
organization ridiculed and calumniated. 

The book is valuable as a literary landmark and as a con- 
densed presentation of the Arminian side of the issue. 

Brownlouf s "Great Iron Wheel Examined/' — Here we 
have a real literary curiosity. The book was written at a 
time when the controversial spirit was at high tide. The Rev. 
J. R. Graves, editor of the Tennessee Baptist, had made a 
very bitter attack upon the Methodist itinerancy, and this 
book is a reply. In the Preface Mr. Brownlow says : 

The author of this book does not feel it incumbent upon him to 
offer an apology for writing this defense of the personal integrity 
and respectability of Methodist preachers and of the polity and doc- 
trines of Methodism. He has prepared this book because he believed 
it called for, as a set-off to the "star papers" of unmitigated abuse 
and calumny ostentatiously paraded in a book of five hundred and 
seventy pages by the notorious J. R. Graves, editor of the Tennessee 
Baptist, at Nashville, and which are now receiving the praises of the 
irreligious, vindictive, and more indiscreet partisans of that respect- 
able and numerous denomination of Christians. 

The book is not a model for present-day polemics, but is 
an interesting relic of the spirit of controversy that pre- 
vailed in the days of its production. 

Boland's "Problem of Methodism" — The doctrine of sanc- 
tification has ever been one of the most fertile fields of con- 
troversy. A few years ago it received a great deal of at- 
tention throughout our Church. One of the most interest- 
ing productions during the period is the book under review. 



MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS. 



171 



This is said with the distinct understanding that many things 
in the book are not accepted by the reviewer. The full title 
of the book is : 'The Problem of Methodism : Being a Re- 
view of the Residue Theory of Regeneration and the Second 
Change Theory of Sanctification ; and the Philosophy of 
Christian Perfection." The main feature of the book is its 
tendency to check the extremist who would either minimize 
or eliminate the work of regeneration. 

Unclassified. 

Candler's "High Living and High Lives." — This book con- 
tains some of the best thought of one of the most vigorous 
thinkers in Methodism. It consists of addresses delivered 
by Bishop Candler while he was President of Emory Col- 
lege. The first part of the book contains "Exhortations to 
High Living," while the second part contains "Some High 
Lives." The third part deals with "The Education for High 
Living." In the Prefatory Note, which is addressed to Prof. 
H. S. Bradley, Emory College, Oxford, Ga., the good Bishop 
says: 

The best days I have lived were those days at Oxford when I 
did what I could to promote such culture, and one of the highest 
joys I now have is the fact that so many of the sons of Emory 
illustrate the high living to which I tried to point them. All around 
the world to-day they are trying to serve their generation according 
to the will of God. Some have fallen on sleep, having wrought well. 

Carlisle's "Addresses." — A book of similar import and 
character is the one containing the "Addresses" of Dr. James 
H. Carlisle. The volume is edited by Mr. James H. Carlisle, 
Jr., and is dedicated to "the students and alumni of WofTord 
College, whom he loved so well." This volume, however, 
contains only one of the addresses delivered by Dr. Carlisle 
to the students of WofTord. The editor of the book se- 
lected addresses made upon various occasions, from the 
graduating speech at the South Carolina College Decern- 



172 STUDIES IN METHODIST LITERATURE. 

ber 2, 1844, to the address delivered before the graduating 
class of Wofford College June 5, 1904. While the volume 
before us contains many addresses of purely local interest, 
yet it will be of perpetual interest to those who knew the 
peerless James H. Carlisle. 

Arthur's "The Tongue of Fire." — Here is a book that can- 
not be ignored by people who aspire to the highest attain- 
ments in experience and efficiency. In the Preface the author 
says: 

The following pages are the fruit of meditations entered upon 
with the desire to lessen the distance painfully felt to exist between 
my own life and that of the primitive Christians. This fact may, in 
some measure, account for the plan of the work. Many topics which 
would have been fully discussed in a treatise on the work of the 
Holy Spirit or on the character and usages of the primitive Christians 
are passed by or very slightly touched, while some others have 
greater prominence than would have been given them in such a 
work. 

The table of contents shows the following : "The Promise 
of the Baptism of Fire," 'The Waiting for the Fulfillment," 
"The Fulfillment of the Promise," "The Effects Which Im- 
mediately Followed the Baptism of Fire," "Permanent Bene- 
fits Resulting to the Church," and "Practical Lessons." 

Tefffs "Methodism Successful." — This book deals with 
internal causes that produced the marvelous success of 
early Methodism. The Introduction was written by Bishop 
Janes. It is a most readable volume and is a valuable con- 
tribution to the literature on Methodism. 

Lee's "Making of a Man." — This excellent book by Rev. 
Dr. James W. Lee has not had the wide circulation and 
study that its merits justify, though the circulation has been 
extensive. It is a book, not for the casual reader, but the 
student. 

Dr. Lee's great book, "The Religion of Science," has just 
come from the press. It will be one of the epoch-making 
books of the Christian era. 



MISCELLANEOUS WRITINGS. 



This chapter must not close without mention of these: 
Edwards's "The Log Meetinghouse," Keener's "Post 
Oak Circuit," Caughey's "Methodism in Earnest," Cross's 
"Pisgah View of the Promised Inheritance," Hudson's "The 
Methodist Armor," Arthur's "Addresses," Anderson's "The 
Bible Christian," and Bishop Fitzgerald's "Writings." 

Questions. 

1. What are some of the contributions of Methodist writers to 
the literature of travel? 

2. What are the literary traits of Bishop Marvin ? 

3. Who wrote "Travels in Three Continents"? 

4. What gave rise to Fletcher's "Appeal"? 

5. What does the author say of "Objections to Calvinism"? 

6. What is the chief value of Brownlow's "Great Iron Wheel 
Examined" ? 

7. What is the issue in Boland's "Problem of Methodism" ? 

8. Who wrote "High Living and High Lives"? 

9. Of what does Arthur's "Tongue of Fire" treat? 

10. For whom especially was Lee's "Making of a Man" written? 

Bibliography. 

Olin's "Travels." 

Marvin's "To the East by Way of the West." 
Galloway's "Circuit of the Globe." 
Buckley's "Travels in Three Continents." 
Moore's "Etchings of the East." 
Fletcher's "Appeal." 
Foster's "Objections to Calvinism." 
Brownlow's "Great Iron Wheel Examined." 
Arthur's "Tongue of Fire." 



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